


Lost Sister

by MPotter28



Series: Lost Sister [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Dathomir (Star Wars), F/F, F/M, Female Protagonist, Hutts (Star Wars), Jedi, Love Triangles, Mother Talzin - Freeform, Multi, New Republic era, Post-Endor, Slavery, Temptation, The Force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:34:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22482670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MPotter28/pseuds/MPotter28
Relationships: Original Characters - Relationship
Series: Lost Sister [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1617595
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

It all started when Kaerys looked at the sky, and wondered what it would be like to live outside of a cage. The huge dome over Motok was almost a mile high, but she could still see a dull film between her and the rusty clouds roiling outside. It must have been raining, she thought, the greasy orange tears of a poisoned planet, running down the cold shell of civilization. 

A displeased grunt snapped her back to attention, and she looked back to the front of the room. Grauf, a rotund human with a pockmarked face and beady dark eyes, scowled at her. “Girl,” he growled. “Pay attention.” Kaerys swallowed and nodded meekly. 

“How do you serve Rylothi tea,” Grauf demanded. 

Kaerys took a steadying breath and proceeded through the practiced ritual. Her pale hands shook at first, but grew steadier as the adrenaline of Grauf catching her daydreaming faded. She prepared the place settings, the tea and the spice tincture smoothly and then knelt obediently, head cowed, her pale hair veiling her violet eyes. 

“Very good,” Grauf purred, but there was a warning note to the sound, a pleasure that didn’t fit the task. Too late, Kaerys realized she had forgotten the words. 

“Please enjoy the bounty of my lo-” she began in a rush, but a flash of burning pain across her shoulders made her cut off the words in a gasp of agony. Grauf flogged her twice more, the Neerak whip searing her flesh with neurotoxins that produced unbearable pain but no marks that would lower the value of her pale flesh. 

“You should  _ always _ remember to honor our lord Oraj,” Grauf rumbled as she lay panting on the floor. “The Hutts feed you and clothe you. They gave you a home when you showed up here as filthy, parasite-riddled refugees. Yet you can’t even remember their names.” 

From the floor, Kaerys watched one of his dirty boots come to rest by her face as he stood over her.

“You’re lucky you know,” Grauf said with a dark laugh, “that your people were almost wiped out. You’d already be sold off to a pleasure house if it wasn’t so hard to find a replacement.” She felt one rough finger slide over the exposed skin of her shoulder. Even through the pain of the lash, the sensation made her shudder with revulsion. “But because you’re so rare, you’ll fetch a handsome price from the jaded Core World husbands looking for an exotic thrill.” He grabbed the skin of her shoulder in a painful pinch and she gasped again. “Aren’t you thankful Kaerys? For the droids that killed your people?” 

She fought through his painful grip and looked at him. She kept her face calm, a mask of neutrality. But she did nothing to hide the hate from her eyes as she stared into his. At first Grauf sneered back. But then he blinked and looked away, making a disgusted sound and releasing her to fall to the ground.

“We’re done for the day,” he muttered, then kicked the tea set idly. “Clean up this mess and return to your quarters.” 

*****

“You must learn to pay attention,” her friend Dea told her after she’d cleaned up the tea set and returned to the servant’s barracks. Dea wiped at Kaerys’s skin with a steaming hot cloth. The servants were not allowed hot water, but by boiling drinking water and dipping clothes in it, they could get something close. They were sitting alone in the room they shared, dim light filtering through the low, barred window near the ceiling opposite the door. 

“I have done the tea ceremony at least a thousand times,” Kaerys growled. Then she sighed at the relief of the warm cloth wiping the last of the neurotoxin from her shoulders. 

“And yet, you forgot the words,” Dea pointed out. 

“Oh yes,” Kaerys laughed bitterly. “How could I forget to be  _ thankful _ to those slugs.” 

Dea clamped a hand over her mouth. It was firm, but not painful. “You must watch your words, Kaerys,” she said. “We are never as alone as we seem.” 

Kaerys’s eyes flicked to the door and then she let out a defeated sigh, nodding. Dea released her and went back to washing off her shoulders. Kaerys bowed her head and let her friend clean her in silence. 

“Sing for me,” Dea said after a bit. “It’s the least you can do you know.” 

Kaerys smiled, not moving, and began to sing. She knew the words, but not what they meant. It was a sad song, minor notes and simple scales. Kaerys’s voice filled the small room, clear and soft and sad. When Dea finished wiping her down, Kaerys stopped singing, and heard her friend sniffling. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked. 

Dea waved her off. Her dark skin contrasted with Kaerys’s in the wane lighting. “It’s such a sad song. Do you know what it means?” 

“No,” Kaerys said with a shrug. “My mother would sing it. I think it’s about our homeworld.” 

“Dathomir?” Dea asked. “Isn’t it one big wasteland?” 

Kaerys shrugged again. “That’s what they say.”

“How could you miss a wasteland so much,” Dea wondered. 

“It was our wasteland,” Kaerys said. “Our home.” 

“Humans don’t have a home,” Dea sighed. “Or maybe everywhere is our home. My family has never talked about anywhere by Cyrkon.” 

Kaerys slipped her shirt back on and stretched. “It’s the only home I’ve ever had too.” 

“We’ll need to get back to work,” Dea noted, watching her friend with a small smile. “Since your lesson was cut short you can join me in the baths.” 

Kaerys made a disgusted face, but remembering Dea’s warning, didn’t make a sound to accompany it. Dea’s eyes flashed and she nodded her approval. “Maybe if we’re lucky,” she needled, “we’ll get to wash Oraj himself.” 

Kaerys closed her eyes and shuddered at the idea. The pale Hutt had dry skin. He never bathed until it had begun to crack and weep. The feeling of the servants scrubbing him at that point brought him some kind of pleasure. Kaerys prayed she wouldn’t have to. 

“We should be so lucky,” she said in a flat voice. 

Dea barked out a laugh and stood. “I’ll give you a minute. But don’t wait too long. Grauf will be all too happy to use that whip again, and I’m out of clean cloth until next week’s laundry.” 

Kaerys nodded, and Dea hurried out. Kaerys crawled over to her bed mat and flopped down on it, eyes clenched tightly shut. Her fists clenched as she fumed at Grauf. The fat man was as cruel as his masters. Kaerys wanted more than anything to show him his place. His wickedness betrayed his weakness. Somehow she knew he only enjoyed keeping her down because they both knew if she ever stood, he would be no match for her. 

She rolled over, and peeled up the bedmat near her head. Underneath there was a small hollow she had dug in the dirt. Not once in all the contraband checks, had anyone ever looked there. For some reason, it never occured to the guards - no matter who they were - that Kaerys would hide something under her bedmat. It made no sense, but she was thankful. 

Inside the hollow was a small bundle of rags. Kaerys peeled them away and took out the only thing her mother had given her besides a life debt to Osaj the Hutt. It was a translucent disk.There was some kind of liquid inside, though no obvious way to open it. It was wrapped in bands of bronze-colored metal that was marked in a script Kaerys couldn’t read.. She assumed it was Dathomiri, but wouldn’t dare show it to anyone who might confirm that. They’d take it in a heartbeat, and Kaerys couldn’t bear that. 

As always, when she held the container, she suddenly felt less alone. Like someone was there, holding her, comforting her. She liked to imagine it was her mother. Kaerys had vague memories of her haunted, sad face. Her eyes were violet like Kaerys’s. But she had been horribly scarred, and so traumatized by  _ something _ that she had worked alone and out of sight, in the dirty ugly jobs around Osaj’s palace. One day she had never come back. 

Kaerys didn’t know what happened. But the warmth of the presence when she held the disk, made her think her mother had probably died, and her ghost was now sitting with her. It was a sad thought. Kaerys didn’t remember her mother well enough to miss her, exactly. But her bone deep loneliness was something similar. Maybe that’s what missing someone was. 

“What should I do?” Kaerys whispered to the room, barely able to hear her words herself. “I can’t go on like this.” 

_ When opportunity comes _ , she thought,  _ take it. _

Only it wasn’t her thinking it, she realized. The thought was in her head but it was not  _ her _ thought. Her heart lurched into a racing beat and she looked around the room wildly. There was no one there, and no more thoughts came unbidden. But as she looked at the disk the steady  _ presence _ of it seemed to press closer. 

“Mother,” she murmured. If the ghost heard her, it didn’t respond. But Kaerys was sure it heard. Tears sparkled in her eyes. Was she crazy? Was this insanity? It didn’t matter. For the first time in so many years, she didn’t feel alone. 

Her reverie was interrupted by a noise outside the room. She quickly wrapped the disk and slid it under her bed mat. A split second later, Dea leaned in. 

“Come on,” she said, eyes wide. “Osaj is in the bath. And he’s asking for you!” 


	2. Chapter 2

The baths were at the bottom of the palace. To Kaerys’s relief, Oraj had not waited until his skin was cracked and oozing to come down to the baths. His skin looked a bit ashen, but far better than the condition it was normally in when he made the servants clean him. She was so relieved by this, she didn’t realize he wasn’t alone until she had stopped to kneel before him.  
“My lord Oraj,” Kaerys said in Huttese. All of the servants who had come as children learned their master’s language. “You honor me.”  
“Beautiful as ever, Kaerys,” Oraj rumbled. His yellow eyes gleamed as he looked her over, and his tongue - the size of her leg - licked his lips.  
Kaerys looked down, letting her hair fall over her face, hoping it would hide the grimace. “As it pleases you, my lord.”  
Oraj laughed, the low rumbles echoing through the baths in contrast with the gentle tinkling of the water. Kaerys swallowed and glanced back up. Her heart started beating faster as she looked at the man standing next to Oraj.  
He was wearing an expensive suit of grey and white fabric. It looked like some kind of uniform, but Kaerys did not recognize him. His hands were gloved, so she didn’t see his crimson skin until she got to his face. Black tattoos swirled there, around golden eyes and beneath a crown of small pointed horns. The man smiled, noticing her gaze. He was handsome, but that wasn’t why she looked down quickly.  
He was a Zabrak, one of the races of her homeworld. In fact her people, the Dathomiri, were supposedly the result of Zabraks having children with humans. Of course, the Zabraks lived on many worlds, and unlike the Dathomiri, they had not been nearly wiped out.  
“You see my guest,” Oraj noted once his laughter died.  
“Yes my lord. Greetings, honored guest of my lord Oraj.”  
Oraj laughed again. “See, Kydar, I told you she was polite.”  
“Quite,” said the Zabrak. His voice was soft, and pleasant, and his accent was urbane. Kaerys thought he might have been from the Core. Maybe even Coruscant.  
“Thank you, my lord,” she said.  
“May I look her over, brave Oraj?” the man asked.  
Oraj waved him on in reply, watching as the man walked around Kaerys slowly. She could feel his eyes sliding over her, and her heart sank. Until now, no one had been willing to pay the price Oraj charged for her. With a sinking sensation she thought that must have changed. Either this Kydar was willing to pay… or Oraj had lowered his price. That would be a very bad sign for her.  
“A true blooded Dathomiri,” Kydar said, a note of excitement in his voice. “Truly rare.”  
“Her mother brought her to me 19 years ago,” Oraj grunted.  
“And yet no one has…” Kydar let the question trail off.  
“I know her worth,” Oraj said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “You’re the first to recognize it.”  
“Ah,” Kydar said, turning back to her. “I see.” The Zabrak crouched down in front of her. “Look at me, girl.”  
Kaerys closed her eyes tight against the sudden tears that burned in them, then slowly opened them and looked up at him. His golden eyes looked deeply into hers. She did not see malice or even lust there. Just… curiosity.  
“Violet eyes,” he murmured in Basic. “You know this tongue?”  
“Of course she does,” Oraj said in Huttese. “What use is a concubine who cannot speak with her clients?”  
“Of course, lord Oraj,” Kydar said, not turning from Kaerys.  
“Speak for him, girl,” Oraj ordered.  
“As it please you,” she said in Basic, dropping her eyes from the Zabrak’s stare.  
“There. Are you not satisfied, Kydar?”  
“Well,” the Zabrak said with a small smile. “That’ll be up to her, won’t it, lord Oraj.”  
Oraj laughed again a booming sound, and slithered up closer. “It is your lucky day, Kaerys,” the Hutt rumbled. She did not look, but knew his eyes would be gleaming. “Today you get to earn your keep.” 

*******

Kaerys felt numb as she looked at herself in the mirror in the Flower Room. It was the euphemistic name given to the room where servants were prepared to go with clients. Kaerys looked at herself in the mirror, the orange silk draped over her body in translucent layers. Her pale skin shone through to one degree or another, and though she looked nearly naked the layers made the dress almost unbearably hot.  
“Look at you,” Dea said, coming up from behind and wrapping her arms around Kaerys.  
“Mmm,” Kaerys said.  
“The orange makes the violet of your eyes even more beautiful.”  
“I do not want to be beautiful, Dea.”  
Her friend sighed and rested her head against Kaerys’s. “I know. And I’m sorry. But you knew this would come. We’ve always known. At least it sounds like Oraj kept the price high. This will encourage him to keep it there. The higher the price, the less often you will have to do this.”  
“Once is too often,” Kaerys said, her voice shaking slightly. A sob threatened to break through in her chest.  
Dea kissed her shoulder. “Relax, Kaerys. This Kydar seems… well much, much nicer than my first client.”  
That made Kaerys feel guilty. Dea was a few years older, and had already been with many clients. She was human, and her price was much lower than Kaerys’s, and likely always would be. It was one of the only advantages of near extinction.  
“You’re right,” Kaerys said to Dea, forcing a smile. “Besides, from what you’ve said, it likely won’t last terribly long anyway.”  
They shared forced smiles. There was nothing fun or beautiful about what was about to happen. But it would be far better than being whipped by Grauf. And if she did well, she could even become a consort. It was not unheard of. And when men fell in love with their consorts then there was the tantalizing chance of freedom.  
“Kaerys,” came a hard woman’s voice. Wi’da, the Twi’lek matron of Oraj’s palace, stood in the doorway. Her light blue skin contrasted with the deep maroons of her dress. It was far more conservative than Kaerys’s outfit, but clung the older woman’s curves. “It is time.”  
Kaerys swallowed and turned to Dea. “Wish me luck?”  
Dea smiled again, sadness in her eyes, and gave Kaerys’s hand a squeeze. “Good luck.”  
The Kaerys turned and walked over to Wi’da. “Mistress.”  
The Twi’lek gave Kaerys a once over, running her hands over the younger woman’s body, checking the fit of the garment. Then she nodded. “You look good, Kaerys.”  
“Thank you,” Kaerys said, fighting not to bite her lip. Her hands trembled slightly, but Wi’da did not seem to notice.  
“The client has rented one of the guest villas,” Wi’da said, beckoning Kaerys to follow her as she walked out of the Flower Room. “Tonight is an audition. If you do well, you will be called on to entertain him again for as long as he stays.”  
“Do you know how long that will be?” Kaerys asked.  
“As long as you keep him entertained, I’d wager,” Wi’da said, giving her a side long look.  
“Mistress I have never…”  
“I know, dear,” Wi’da said. “But I doubt the client will mind much. You’ve talked with Dea, yes? You know what to expect?”  
“Yes ma’am.”  
“That will likely suffice,” Wi’da said, leading them into one of the small “stables” where droid piloted hover skiffs waited to take servants to the guest villas. A pair of Nikto guards sat on the back of the skiff, to make sure none of the servants tried to flee. They looked bored, but their blasters were near at hand.  
“Take this one to the third villa on the southern bank,” Wi’da said to the droid. It chirped in a chorus of Binary Kaerys couldn’t understand. Then Wi’da beckoned for Kaerys to get on board. The girl did, stepping on the gently vibrating metal of the hover skiff’s floor.  
The skiff took off as soon as she had taken a seat. Wi’da watched them go, but Kaerys didn’t look up. She examined her perfectly polished fingernails and the distorted reflection of herself she saw shining back at her.  
The villa was along the artificial river that ran through this part of the city. All the real rivers were toxic swamps now, but Oraj had built a simulated river for his guests and clients. The water was clean, and birds waded through the reeds. The skiff floated over the water to a little walkway at the front of the villa where Kydar was standing waiting. She felt his golden eyes on her again, as the skiff pulled up, though she did not meet them again.  
“Up girl,” one of the Nikto’s growled after the skiff came to a stop. His facial horns gave him a frightful appearance, and Kaerys hurried off the skiff. It sped away immediately, the droid giving a few perfunctory chirps as it went.  
“Hello, Kaerys,” Kydar said.  
“My lord,” she murmured.  
“I am not Oraj,” Kydar said. “Please, don’t call me lord.”  
She looked up then, her eyes searching his face. His jaw was strong and he looked, slightly amused. “Please, come in.”  
Yes my l-yes, thank you,” she said.  
Kydar lead her into the guest villa. The floor was set in polished tile mosaics. Kaerys was sure it came from some alien world, made by skilled artisans. But she was servant and had never been taught much of the galaxy beyond the gossip of her fellow workers. Still she marveled at the prismatic hues, and the way the light danced off the tiles onto the ceiling.  
She was preoccupied until they entered what was clearly a bedroom. She felt her chest tighten and her hands begin to tremble again.  
“Please,” Kydar said, indicating a long couch across from the bed. “Sit.”  
Kaerys nodded and numbly sat down. She tried to pose her body in a way that would please him and show off her modest curves. She let her dress lift a bit, showing some of the pale skin of her thigh. Kydar watched her, his expression unreadable.  
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. It was made of black metal, a cone topped by a dull grey orb. He squinted as he looked at it, pressing a number of tiny buttons on the side. Then Kaerys heard a brief hiss of sound, and nodded and stepped back.  
“There,” he said, and his voice sounded odd. “Now we can speak with some privacy?”  
“My… I mean… sir?” Kaerys asked. Her own voice sounded odd, slightly tinny.  
“I’ve jammed the bugs Oraj placed in the villa,” Kydar explained.  
“Oh,” she said eyes widening. “W-why? What do you intend to…”  
“So we can talk,” he said quickly, raising his hands in a placating gesture.  
Kaerys looked around the room, her brow furrowed with confusion. “I thought…”  
“Wrong,” Kydar finished for her. “I am not here to sleep with you, Kaerys.”  
She felt her heart sink. So he wasn’t willing to pay the price. She had displeased him somehow. Oraj would be furious. He would lower his price.  
“P-please,” she said, eyes wide, voice shaking. “I can do better… I will be…”  
Kydar held his hands up. “No, stop, would you listen!?”  
Kaerys froze. Kydar looked annoyed and… flustered?  
“I’m not here to sleep with you, Kaerys. I’m here to rescue you.”


	3. Chapter 3

Kaerys could hear her heart thundering in her ears. Her stomach felt like it was trying to do flips and she didn’t know if she needed to throw up or pass out. Kydar looked at her with a concerned expression.  
“Are you okay?” he asked.  
“I… what do you mean,” Kaerys asked, “by ‘rescue me.’”  
“I am going to get you out of here, Kaerys,” he said, one corner of his mouth turning up in a lopsided smile.  
Her mind raced. It had been a very long time since she had felt anything like hope. It was terrifying. She had learned to smother hope because waiting on the other side, always, was bitter disappointment. Yet she felt hope lifting her, even as she struggled to break free.  
“You will… buy me? My debt I mean.”  
Kydar shook his head. “No. That isn’t the plan.”  
“Plan? W-what is the plan?” She looked at the small device Kydar said was jamming Oraj’s listening devices, and then flicked her gaze around the room. If Kydar was wrong, and Oraj was listening… he would do terrible things to both of them.  
“Me and my friends are going to rescue you,” Kydar said. “Tomorrow?”  
“Why tomorrow? Why not now? How? Where will I go? Oraj is not the most powerful Hutt in the city but he can certainly get it closed down!” Each question was a hammer blow, helping her beat the hope back down, lowering her back into the pit of resignation she had lived in for years. “It’s not possible.”  
Kydar gave her a confused look. “Do you… want to stay here?”  
Kaerys gave a bitter laugh. “Don’t be stupid. Of course not.” Her eyes widened and she spoke quickly. “I am so sorry my lord, forgive me I just…”  
Kydar let out a wry laugh. “I’m not your lord, remember?”  
“Who are you then?”  
“There will be time for that later,” he said, waving dismissively. “We need to get you out of here first.”  
Kaerys shifted uncomfortably. “Why?”  
Kydar blinked. “Uh… because slavery is wrong?”  
“Technically,” she said with a humorless smile, “I am an indentured servant. And there are many of them in Oraj’s palace.”  
“I can’t rescue all of them,” Kydar said with a sad smile.  
“But why me?”  
“Does it matter?”  
Kaerys swallowed. “I would just think you would have… a reason. Certainly it isn’t… love.” A thought occurred to her. “Were… was your family from Dathomir too?”  
Kydar looked startled for a second, then let out a wry laugh. “You are very perceptive,” he said.  
Another surge of hope hit Kaerys, and she let it carry her this time. “Do you know about our people? Can you read our language?”  
“You can’t read?” Kydar asked, quirking an eyebrow.  
“No I just…” she trailed off, biting her lip. The disk was her greatest secret. But if Kydar meant to take her from here, there was no way she would leave it behind. And if he could read it. “My mother left me something. It’s… it’s the only thing that is mine.”  
Kydar leaned forward, looking excited. “A relic from Dathomir?”  
Kaerys nodded excitedly. “I think so! It has writing on it. I’ve never been able to read it but maybe you can!”  
“Do you have it with you?” he asked hurriedly.  
“Ah… no,” she said. “It’s… back in my room.”  
“Can you bring it tomorrow?” Kydar asked.  
She looked down at her outfit. It barely covered her body. There was nowhere to hide anything. Suddenly, being mostly naked in front of Kydar - when he wasn’t interested in her - made her very self-conscious. Her cheeks burned and she drew her legs up a bit to cover more of her body. “I… don’t know where I could hide it.”  
For a moment Kydar seemed confused. Then realization dawned on his face and he coughed, looking to the side. “Yes, of course. I can… request something more conservative from Oraj for tomorrow. That would… give you a place to… hide it.”  
Kaerys nodded, and some of the heat went out of her face. “That… could work.”  
“Good, then we’ll get out of here after night falls,” he replied.  
“How? Oraj has the villa watched at all times. He’ll probably noticed your jammer soon.”  
“Leave that to me,” Kydar said with another lopsided smile. His golden eyes glittered.  
Kaerys felt herself smiling back and she sighed. After a moment, she said in a serious tone “you’re asking me to trust you. A lot.”  
“Isn’t freedom worth some risk?”  
She gave him a level look. “I’m not stupid, Kydar. I do not like being Oraj’s servant, but there are worse fates.”  
He looked at her seriously. “True.”  
“So how do I know you don’t plan to… harvest me for organs… or use me as your own servant?”  
Kydar shrugged and spread his hands. “What could I possibly tell you that would assure you of that? We do not know one another. And we don’t have the time to establish any real trust anyway. Sooner or later, Oraj will realize I don’t actually have the money to pay for you night after night.”  
“So you’re poor,” she said, narrowing her eyes.  
“What? No,” Kydar stammered. “Look there’s a long way between being able to afford that… and being willing to pay for… and besides this isn’t about my money. It’s about getting you out of here.”  
He was hiding something, Kaerys was sure. He was very, very good at avoiding all of her questions. He was not what he seemed, and she wasn’t even sure what it was he seemed to be. Either than a good liar.  
There were so many insane risks. Oraj was awful, and being owned hurt every fiber of her being. But she had a bed, and food. They even allowed servants time to socialize at night. There were much worse places, even just here on Motok, where she could wind up.  
When opportunity comes, take it.  
That was the thought that had invaded her mind. It wasn’t her thought. It had come from her mother. The only family she had ever known. She resented her mother so much but… maybe this was her attempt to give her daughter a better life. She bit her lip and looked at Kydar’s handsome face and steady gaze.  
“Okay,” she said slowly. “How is this going to work?” 

That night, Kaerys slept in a bed for the first time. A real bed, with a mattress and supports, lifted off the ground. There were soft sheets and blankets, a veritable mountain of pillows and a soft, cool breeze blowing in off the artificial river. It smelled of water and flowers and so clean compared to the dusty stale air of the servants’ quarters.  
And she slept on a full stomach. Kydar ordered them food. It was piled high with dry-aged Nerf steaks and steaming Fleek eel. There were little cups of Colo Claw Fish eggs that shimmered like gems, and bottles of wine from Pamarthe. Kydar watched in bemused silence as Kaerys picked at her food. Then he reminded her they weren’t actually paying for any of it, and she began to gorge herself.  
She woke up feeling better rested and fed than she had ever felt in her life. Maybe this plan was a good thing. Maybe she would have a soft bed and warm food for the rest of her life after this. Yeah right. More likely, they would be caught. She realized with a pang, that this was the first morning she was waking up without her disk.  
Kydar was not in the bed when she woke up. He had slept on the far edge, and near as she could tell, had been a perfect gentleman. She had enjoyed the wine a bit too much - her first time drinking anything other than stolen ale. But Kydar hadn’t taken advantage of her. She didn’t know if that made her trust him more or less. Altruism was a rare thing in Oraj’s palace.  
“Sleep well,” the Zabrak asked, walking into the room. He was wearing a suit very similar to the one from the day before, though this one had gold trim around the collar.  
“Yes,” she said with a smile. “This was… my first time sleeping in a bed.”  
Kydar looked startled then tilted his head in acknowledgement. “I suppose it would be.”  
“Thank you,” she said. “For… for even just a night with a full stomach and a bed. No one has ever done anything this nice for me. Kindness… is normally an extra roll at dinner. Nothing like this.” She swept her arm to indicate the whole room.  
Kydar looked uncomfortable and coughed. “Well, it’s all Oraj’s stuff. I’m just, you know, stealing it from him.”  
“So that you can steal me. Free me… I mean.”  
Kydar ran a hand over his scalp and then yelped when one of his horns pricked his hand. “Ouch.”  
Kaerys couldn’t help laughing. “Forget your own horns?”  
Kydar sucked on his palm where he had stabbed it through his glove, then he snorted a laugh. “Apparently.”  
“So what is the plan,” Kaerys asked, getting serious again.  
“Mmm,” Kydar said, lowering his hand and screwing his face up in thought. “I will send you back for a few hours. I will tell them you kept me up all night and I need some sleep.”  
Kaerys’s cheeks burned again and her eyes widened a little as she stared intently at her hands in her lap. Wow.  
“Sorry,” Kydar said quickly. “But… we have to maintain appearances.”  
“R-right,” Kaerys said.  
“Anyway, I’ll tell them I want you to be more conservatively dressed. I’ll say I’m into that, they won’t care. That should let you sneak the artefact out, right?”  
Kaerys nodded, still deep in thought. Something was in the back of her mind, not exactly bothering her. She couldn’t put her finger on it but there was something she knew they were forgetting. Something important.  
“Then we’ll be out of here before the sun rises tomorrow,” Kydar said, sounding smug.  
“How?”  
“Eh?”  
“It’s not like we can walk out of here,” Kaerys said.  
“I have friends,” Kydar said after a pause. “They will help us?”  
“Who are they.”  
“You’ll meet them soon enough.”  
Kaerys swallowed again. His evasions reminded her just how much of a gamble she was taking. But she remembered the words, the thoughts her mother had sent her. She set her jaw and nodded to herself.  
“Okay,” she said, and prepared to go back to Oraj’s palace for the last time.


	4. Chapter 4

The ride back to Oraj’s palace was an agony of tension. Kaerys did everything she could to not look at the Niktos. It was impossible for the guards to know what she was planning, but it felt impossible for them to not know. She stared at her hands folded in her lap as the skiff skimmed over the artificial river and then the smooth white and red stone of the palace avenues. She glanced once, up at the dome over the city, where the clouds roiled a darker brown as a storm boomed its frustration against the implacable transparisteel.   
Kaerys’s anxiety only got worse as they got back to the palace. The hope she’d foolishly allowed to bubble at the villa hit the tide of fear like a storm front and the roiling emotions made her want to throw up. Wi’da was waiting at the “stables” when the skiff pulled up.   
“Our guest said he was most pleased by your performance last night,” she said as Kaerys stepped back into the palace.   
“I am glad,” Kaerys said, blushing and bowing.   
“He has requested that you return in a few hours,” the Twi’lek said. “But he wants a more… elegant look.”   
“Mistress?”  
“I will give you an hour or two to relax in your room, then we will have you fitted for an evening gown suitable for the guest’s homeworld.”   
“Where might that be?”   
“Coruscant,” Wi’da said. “You will leave this outfit” she added, indicating the translucent layers still clinging to Kaerys “in the Flower Room.”   
Kaerys had to force herself to walk normally to the Flower Room. She wanted to run and hide. The cool stone halls of the inner palace were mostly empty, with most of the servants already at their posts. Each time she passed a Niktos guard, she felt a tremor in her hands. None of them gave her a second look.   
She shucked out of the outfit as quickly as possible and felt much more comfortable back in her own robes. The fabric had a familiar weight that made her feel less exposed. It was silly of course, her plot wasn’t something anyone could see. But she had long ago learned that fear and reason often worked at cross purposes. Anything that could lessen it was welcome.   
She practically ran back to her room, and leaned her back against the wall in relief when she got there. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing for a few minutes. It didn’t have a door, but it was the most private place she had in the palace. And she was leaving it behind soon.   
“That bad, huh,” Dea said.   
Kaerys leapt and swore in surprise. “Kriffing poodoo Dea!”  
Dea raised her eyebrows. “Little jumpy?”   
Kaerys brushed some of her hair back with one trembling hand. “Maybe a little. I just didn’t realize you were here.”   
“Finished up with a morning client and heard you were coming back,” Dea said, standing up and walking over to take Kaerys’s hands in hers. “Wanted to make sure you were okay.”   
Kaerys looked in Dea’s brown eyes and then down, biting her lip. “I’m fine.”   
“Do you want to talk about it?” Dea offered.   
Kaerys sighed. Dea was trying to be a good friend and thought that she and Kydar had done more than sleep in the bed. Of course she did. That was what Kaerys was supposed to do. Why she had been gone so long. Kaerys was annoyed that she felt guilty for not doing it. Which was so ridiculous it made her scowl. She huffed out a frustrated breath. “Not really,” she said finally, pulling her hands from Dea’s.   
Dea took a step back and then nodded. “Okay. I… understand. Sorry. I’ll go.”   
Kaerys slid down the floor, drawing her knees to her chin. She didn’t want to talk to Dea. But she also realized she might never see Dea again. Ever. “Wait,” she said. “Come back.”   
Dea was already halfway through the entrance to the room when Kaerys spoke. She slowly backed back in, and then walked over to sit cross legged next to Kaerys.   
“I’m sorry,” Kaerys said. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”   
“I understand,” Dea said. “It’s a hard thing.”  
“He… didn’t want to,” Kaerys murmured.   
“What?” Dea said, straightening up.   
“Quiet,” Kaerys said, turning her head to give Dea a meaningful look.   
“What?” Dea repeated in a quiet hiss.   
“He just wanted to… talk.”   
“One of those,” Dea said. “They… well it happens more often than you might think.”  
Kaerys grunted in acknowledgement.   
“What did he want to talk about?”   
Kaerys leaned her forehead on her knees so her hair would hide her panicked expression from Dea. Shut up! Why do you have so many questions? Kaerys thought. “Dathomir,” she said flatly after a moment.   
“Was he from there?”   
“No. Honestly I… I didn’t really pay much attention,” Kaerys said, forcing a laugh.   
Dea snorted. “Kaerys. You’re good at lying to the foreman but you are fragging terrible at lying to me.”  
Kaerys’s face burned and she felt a bit nauseous. “Dea…”  
Dea held up a hand. “I don’t need to know, I was just curious. You are being so weird. You know the mistress won’t care if all you did is talk. Oraj gets his money regardless.”   
“Right,” Kaerys said weakly.   
“Did he… hurt you?” Dea asked, narrowing her eyes.   
“N-no! He was… a perfect gentleman,” Kaerys said smiling slightly and blushing more.   
“Oh Kaerys,” Dea said tilting her head with an expression of disbelief. “Do not tell me you like this guy. Perfect gentlemen don’t fly from the core to patronize Hutt brothels.”   
Kaerys frowned at that. Of course Kydar wasn’t really patronizing a Hutt brothel, he was robbing it. Of her. Or would that be a kidnapping? Hopefully, it was assisting an escape. For the millionth time she thought about backing out of the plan. He was so secretive about what would come next. But… she couldn’t shake the message to take a risk. To grab this opportunity. Who knew if she would ever get one again.   
“You’re right, of course,” she said finally. Dea had watched her for the long pause before her response.   
“Something… is going on,” Dea said slowly, whispering.   
“What do you mean?”   
“You’re hiding something, Kaerys,” Dea said. “And… you don’t have to tell me. Just… promise me you’re being careful with… whatever it is.”   
“How could you possibly…”  
“Kaerys I’ve practically raised you. You’re like… a little sister to me. I know you,” Dea said, reaching out to run her dark fingers through Kaerys’s pale hair. “You acted like this when you were sneaking out those tools to make me that bracelet last year. Only... “ she paused, looking closely at Kaerys’s face. “Only I think it’s much more serious this time.”   
Kaerys’s eyes burned, and she felt a hot tear slide down one cheek. “Dea. I love you.”   
“I love you too, sweety,” Dea said.   
“I’m so scared,” Kaerys said, and a half-sob came out with the words.   
Dea cupped Kaerys’s face in her hands and wiped a tear away with her thumb. Then she leaned down and kissed Kaerys’s forehead. “I know. It’s okay. You’re a survivor Kaerys.”   
Kaerys took a deep, shaky breath, and then nodded. “Thank you,” she said softly.   
“No biggie,” Dea said with a smile, though her eyes were bright and watery too.   
“Bleah,” Kaerys said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. They both laughed.   
“Seriously,” Dea said, wiping her own eyes. “Be careful.”  
“I will,” Kaerys said simply.   
“Alright,” Dea said. “I need to get down to the kitchen to talk about the servant larder.”  
“Okay,” Kaerys said. Then she reached out and pulled Dea into a tight hug. They both squeezed tight enough to make it hard to breathe.   
“Good luck,” Dea said, standing up.   
“Good bye, Dea,” Kaerys said.   
Then she went to her bedroll and grabbed the disk from underneath it. She held it in her hands, and the familiar presence returned. Instantly some of her fear drained away. A fierce sense of confidence seemed to rise from her fingertips. She knew, somehow, that this was the right thing to do. That it wasn’t a mistake. The disembodied emotion made about as much sense and anything else, and Kaerys allowed herself some precious, anxiety free moments before she took the greatest risk of her life. 

*****

“You look amazing,” Kydar said several hours later, as she stepped off the skiff at the villa. The disk strapped to the inside of her left thigh, hidden under the dress. It’s reassuring presence was the only thing that had gotten her through the terrifying ride back.   
“Thank you,” Kaerys said, bowing, acutely aware of the Niktos guards on the skiff. She didn’t relax until they had pulled away and driven far enough she couldn’t see them. “Let’s get inside. Please.”   
Kydar raised his eyebrows but nodded, leading her into the villa. “You okay?”   
“I’m ready to throw up,” she said bluntly. “When is this happening?” Ruddy red light slid through the windows of the villa, as the sun dipped on the horizon. Night would be coming soon.   
“I’ll call my friends and let them know to come,” Kydar said. “Then they will be here within about 15 minutes.”   
“Okay,” she said, taking a calming breath and nodding.   
Kydar took out the little jamming device and walked back to the bedroom. “I’ll be right back,” he said.   
Kaerys sat on a chair out in the villa’s main room. She ran her hands over the crimson and black velvet of her dress. It came up high on her throat, but had windows cut into the front and back, exposing her collarbone and much of her back. It ran almost all the way down to her ankles, with patterns of black silk all over. She had a matching pair of long, silk-lined velvet gloves that went a few inches above her elbows. It was a very warm dress, even with the breeze coming off the river.   
She looked at the shining lights reflecting off the tiles again. They sparkled on the ceiling, and she lost herself in the kaleidoscope of colors. It was strangely relaxing. She was feeling better until she heard the unexpected whine of an approaching speeder.   
She stood immediately and spun in a quick circle, trying to locate the source of the sound. It was coming from the palace, and fast. Her heart dropped in her chest, as a mental image of a troop of Niktos hauling her and Kydar off filled her head.   
“Kydar,” she called out sharply.   
He came out of the bedroom, putting a communicator in his pocket. “What is i-” his words cut off as heard the sound of the speeder too. He inhaled sharply, his eyes flicking all over the room.   
“Sit back down,” he said in a low voice. “We can’t be sure of what’s happening. Whatever it is, I’ll handle it.” He flashed her a smile. He was clearly going for confident but he mostly looked nauseous.   
The speeder pulled up to the villa, and Kaerys could see it was Grauf. He got out of the speeder, scowling. He had his Neerak whip on his belt, and a flash of remembered pain stung Kaerys’s back.   
“He is dangerous,” she hissed to Kydar. He didn’t look at her, but nodded slightly. Then Grauf pounded on the door.   
Kydar paused a moment, and his expression smoothed out only to set into a mask of mild annoyance. He opened the door. “Hello?”   
“My lord,” Grauf rumbled. His voice was thick and phlegmy. Kaerys guessed he had been using spice before coming.   
“Why are you here?”   
“There has been an irregularity with one of our systems,” Grauf said. He forced a yellow-toothed smile. “I’m just here to make sure everything is okay.”   
“What systems?” Kydar asked, narrowing his eyes.   
“Some of our security systems,” Grauf said thickly. “The ones to keep our product from leaving,” he waved a hand at Kaerys without looking at her.   
“I won’t let her out of my sight, I assure you.”   
“Of course, my lord,” Grauf said. “But lord Oraj wants me to take care of this immediately.” Despite his size, he managed to quickly slip through the door and around Kydar.   
“Now just one minute…” Kydar said, following Grauf as the big human went towards the bedroom.   
Kaerys stayed sitting, her stomach twisted into knots. She gripped the arms of the chair with desperation. If Grauf figured out what was happening, he would lash her within an inch of her life with that whip. And Kydar would almost certainly be killed. Minutes ticked by, as Grauf went looking for whatever had tipped him off. Kaerys guessed it had been Kydar’s jamming device. The fact the snooping devices were blocked every time she was there must have made him suspicious.   
After what felt like forever, Grauf and Kydar both came out. Kydar looked angry, and Grauf looked frustrated.   
“Are you satisfied then,” Kydar demanded.   
“I… apologize for the interruption,” Grauf spat. “But we needed to be sure of the security.”   
“Well I feel quite safe, so you can leave now,” Kydar said with a toothy smile.   
“Of course,” Grauf said, his eyes still sweeping around the room. “I will-”  
He cut himself off as the sound of another speeder approached. He rushed over to a window and looked out it. “That’s not one of ours,” he barked, then whirled on Kydar, pulling out a blaster in a flash. “What are you trying to pull.”   
Kydar’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “Now see here-”  
“Shut up,” Grauf demanded, “or I’ll kill you right now. You were trying to rob my lord Oraj and still one of his most prized servants. He will have you executed most gruesomely.”   
“Grauf…” Kaerys started in a desperate tone.   
“Shut up whore,” Grauf spat, turning the blaster towards her. “You’re already getting enough lashes to leave you crippled for a month. I’ll add another for every word you speak.”   
As he finished his warning, Kydar surged forward. Grauf tried to turn the blaster on him, but Kydar caught his arm and lifted it. He tried to wrench the weapon free, but Graf’s grip was strong. The fat human punched Kydar hard in the ribs and Kydar let out a pained woof. He lowered one of his arms to grab Graf’s free hand. They struggled, staggering into the wall, neither one getting the best of the other.   
A thought surged into Kaerys’s mind, just as it had earlier. Do something! Now!  
What!? She thought back desperately. Then she noticed Grauf’s whip.   
She ran up behind him and pulled the whip from his belt. The long gloves let her grab the toxic cord and she wrapped it around Grauf’s neck and pulled back as hard as she could. He made a gurgling screaming sound as the neurotoxin sank into his flesh. But she kept pulling tighter, cutting off the sound. Grauf thrashed desperately, trying to get free of Kydar’s grasp to fight her off. But the two of them were too strong. His face turned red, then purple and then his eyes fluttered and he went limp. Kaerys kept bearing her teeth, not letting go of the whip. Some distant part of her realized she was snarling. And then she realized someone was talking to her.   
“Kaerys,” Kydar nearly shouted. “Stop. He’s dead.”   
She blinked, looking down at Grauf’s purple face. She sucked in a gasp and let go of the whip, staggering back as Grauf’s limp body collapsed on the floor. His skull bounced leadenly off the tiles.   
“We need to go, Ruyn,” a growling voice said from behind Kaerys.   
She whirled to see a huge alien, covered in short gray fur with large ears sprouting from its head. It had large sword in one hand and a large harness strapped to it.   
“Who are you?” she demanded from the alien. “And who is Ruyn?”   
“This is one of my friends,” Kydar said. And then he reached up and peeled a piece of rubbery material from the top of his head. The Zabrak’s horns went with it, revealing a head of human hair. “And I’m Ruyn.”  
Kaerys’s jaw dropped in shock and she staggered back against the wall behind her. She stared at Kydar… no, Ruyn… in disbelief. “You’re... “  
“Human, yes,” Kydar/Ruyn said. “And Dasry here is right,” he nodded at the large alien. “We need to go. My jammer wasn’t on. Oraj’s guards heard all of that, they are on their way. They’ll kill us if they catch us.”


	5. Chapter 5

“What the hells is happening?” Kaerys demanded. “Who are you? Really?” 

“There isn’t time for this,” Kydar/Ruyn groaned. 

“I just  _ killed _ a man for you,” Kaerys nearly sobbed, her stomach roiling. “And you aren’t even who you said you were!” 

“Ruyn,” the big alien said again, its voice wary. 

He turned and took Kaerys by the shoulders, looking into her eyes. “My name is Ruyn. I’m Human and not a Zabrak. My mom’s name was Erogyn. This is Dasry.” He pointed at the alien. “She’s a Lasat. We’re taking you to our ship to get you way from Oraj.”

“None of this makes sense,” Kaerys moaned. 

“Do you want out of here?” Now-Ruyn demanded. He bent down and took the blaster from Grauf’s corpse and checked it quickly. 

Kaerys stared at him, hard. Her head hurt with the intensity of her emotions. She had just killed a man. A horrible, awful man who she had hated for as long as she could remember. But she had killed him. And she’d done it for… a complete stranger. Even when she’d called him Kydar she had known nothing about him. Now there was no turning back. She would be flayed alive by Oraj, endangered species or not. 

“Yes,” Kaerys hissed after a tense moment. “Yes.” 

“Good,” Ruyn said, nodding. His eyes were serious. “Then we need to go.  _ Now. _ ” 

The big alien, Dasry, moved ahead of them out the door, to a speeder that was sitting on the docks. There were more people out there, sitting in the large speeder. A grizzled old Human sat in the drivers seat, his short dark hair was a mix of steel and silver. His well tanned face was turned towards the palace, his eyes narrowed above a well groomed beard. A woman sat beside him, another Human. Her skin was dark but her eyes glittered blue from beneath a dark gray hood that lead to a long, sleeveless coat of black leather. Her eyes focused intently on Kaerys as soon as she walked out. 

“More friends?” Kaerys asked Ruyn bitterly, waving at the speeder with one hand. 

He sighed. “Yes. Kaerys, meet Grell and Shyn. Grell is my captain and Shyn is his... lieutenant.” Shyn turned a dangerous, flat look on Ruyn when he paused before her title, then gave him a small, hard smile when he finished. 

“Nice to meet you, Kaerys,” Grell said in a rough voice, not looking at her. “Get in.” 

The Lasat had already jumped into the speeder and had lifted a very large blaster and placed it on a pintle sticking out of the speeder just behind the back seats. She twisted a few knobs on the bottom of the blaster than swiveled it a few times before nodding in satisfaction. 

“He’s right,” Ruyn said, putting a hand on Kaerys’s shoulder. “We need to go.” 

She turned her head to scowl at him, but then huffed a frustrated breath before climbing in. Ruyn leapt in behind her, Grauf’s blaster held at the ready. “Let’s go,” Dasry, the Lasat growled. 

Almost immediately the speeder leapt forward, skimming out over the water of the river. There were immediately alarmed shouts from the palace side of the river. Kaerys turned to see four Niktos bearing down on them on speeder bikes. The bikes immediately started screaming as the bikes leapt forward. Almost immediately the Niktos started shooting. 

“That was fast,” Ruyn complained under his breath. 

“If you hadn’t wasted so much time talking,” the woman in the front noted dryly. 

“Less talking more shooting,” Grell said jerking the steering wheel of the speeder into a quick series of motions, zig-zagging them around the heaviest of the blaster fire. 

“I hear that,” Dasry said. The big Lasat pulled a lever and a steady drumbeat of  _ whoompf _ -ing blaster fire erupted from the end of her big blaster. The bolts immediately smashed into one of the bikes, sparking an explosion that sent the Nikto on board smashing into the river like it was a wall. Another salvo had similar results before the speed bikes pulled up and swerved away. 

“Hah, take that!” Dasry growled. 

“There will be more,” Kaerys warned. Her heart was thundering in her chest, and her hands still hurt with the tension of… killing Grauf. Her stomach heaved as she thought about what she had done. 

“Why do you say that?” Dasry asked. 

Instead of answering, Kaerys leaned over the side of the speeder and vomited. 

“What’s  _ that _ about?” the human woman asked. 

“She killed one of the Hutt’s lieutenants to get us out,” Ruyn said, his voice tight. “I’m guessing that was a first.” 

Kaerys could only nod, wiping the vomit from her lips. 

“But why do you say more?” Dasry asked again. 

“Because Oraj has hundreds of guards, and we haven’t even left the palace grounds.” 

As if on cue, a low buzzing sound started to grow off to the left. 

“I can’t see anything over the bank,” Grell warned, flicking glances that way. Kaerys looked the same direction but only a mess of reeds and mangroves and the banks of the artificial river. 

Suddenly another speeder came flying from the bank, coming down in a swerving fishtail in front of them. Grell slammed the throttle back and flipped several switches shouting a curse. A pair of Niktos stood in the back of the new speeder, and they started shooting their blasters at everyone with Kaerys. 

“Get down!” Ruyn cried, pushing Kaerys down behind their seat. She felt him lay on top of her. He was heavy. Kaerys saw a few showers of sparks as blaster bolts landed nearby. She heard Dasry growl and then the steady  _ woompf _ sound as her heavy blaster started firing. 

“I can’t get around them!” Grell yelled. How he was driving while under fire, Kaerys couldn’t imagine. Her heart was racing so fast she was light headed and she would have vomited if she had anything left to throw up. 

Then there was a horrible sound of crunching metal and the entire speeder jerked wildly. Ruyn was thrown off her and as she watched he slipped over the side of the speeder, his eyes wild with shock. She grabbed hold of one of his arms. It wrenched at her shoulder painfully, but she held on, and he thumped against the side of the speeder. 

“Hold on!” she shouted. 

“I am,” he screamed back wildly. 

Kaerys lifted her head and saw that the other speeder had rammed them somehow, sending their speeder in a drunken arc over the water. Only one of the Niktos was still standing, but he was still firing at them, even as Grell slalomed the speeder away. Dasry and everyone else in the speeder was hunched against the incoming fire. 

“Help me!” Kaerys cried out, clutching Ruyn’s arm with both hands, fighting against the movement of the speeder. 

Dasry looked up, and her eyes rolled. She reached over Kaerys, her big hand grabbing Ruyn’s arm before heaving him absently back into the speeder. She didn’t even look away from the Nikto in the other speeder, using the hand that wasn’t holding Ruyn to cut the alien  _ in half _ with a stream of blaster bolts. 

The human in front, Shyn, put a finger to one ear, which is when Kaerys noticed the communicator there. Her expression darkened. “Grell, Aena says they have air speeders heading our way.” 

“Where are we going?” Kaerys demanded. 

“Our ship,” Ruyn answered. 

“If we don’t get blown up first,” Grell growled back. 

“How will we get out of the dome?” 

“Sweetheart, we’re professionals,” Grell said, yanking the steering wheel as the speeder swept up over one bank of the river and onto a small access road. “Please shut up and let us work.” 

“Grell,” Ruyn said in a reproachful tone. 

“Oh you can shut up too, Ruyn,” Grell said. “Save the chivalry for when we aren’t about to get killed.” 

Ruyn growled impolite things quietly, but didn’t speak up. The speeder whipped down an alley between buildings in the city proper. A couple of stunned looking servants leapt back as they flew past in a whine of engines. 

“Dasry,” Shyn said suddenly. “There.” 

“I see them,” the Lasat said, lowering her body and angling the big blaster up at a couple of fast moving dots swooping down on them. 

“They going to open fire in the city?” Grell demanded. 

_ So much for professionals _ , Kaerys thought before saying “Yes. We’re in the Low Quarter, the Hutts could care less.” 

As if on cue, blaster bolts began to rain down. They smashed into the rooftops of the buildings around them, sending bits of stone and plasteel flying out in a painful spray. In answer, Dasry sent a short burst up at the air speeders, which began to bob and weave. 

“How far to the culvert?” Shyn asked in a worried tone. 

In answer Grell let out a whoop and turned the speeder into another sliding turn, smashing through a mound of crates and a kebab cart. The turn took them out onto a bridge sideways, and then with a screech of metal on rock, the speeder leapt forward and into the canal the bridge was spanning. “Just ahead,” Grell said after the speeder landed with a hard bounce and spray of stale water. 

Then a blaster bolt came flying out of the sky and hit one of the engines on the bike of the speeder. It immediately erupted in a ball of fire that threw Kaerys and Ruyn down in their seats. Dasry let out a cry of pain and the speeder lurched sidewise. In moments there was a roar of sound as that side of the speeder sank into the water. 

“Damn it,” Grell shouted, straining against the wheel of the speeder. He somehow kept it straight until they hit the culvert. Instead of skimming in, the dragging side clipped the culvert and they all went into a short spin before slamming against the side. 

Kaerys could tell how long it took to get her thoughts together. When she sat up, groggily, there was smoke billowing from the back of the speeder. Ruyn and Dasry were both groaning - he had a cut on his forehead and the Lasat had a shard of metal sticking out of her side. 

“C’mon,” said Grell’s rough voice from behind her. She turned to see him offering her a hand out of the speeder. 

“But the others,” she slurred. 

“They’ll be fine, gotta get you moving, miss,” he said. He hoisted her out, and she turned to see that true to his word, Dasry and Ruyn were getting out on their own, albeit gingerly. Kaerys stumbled for a moment then got her feet under her. 

“Stop,” a voice growled in accented Basic. Kaerys turned with Grell to see a pair of Niktos climb into the culvert. They must have landed the air speeders and gotten out while Kaerys and the others were getting out of their crashed speeder. 

“Now hold on,” Ruyn said, taking the tone he’d used as Kydar. 

“Shut up, thief,” spat one of the Niktos, turning its blaster on him. “Save your lies.” 

“When it starts,” Grell whispered in Kaerys’s ear, “get down.” 

There was so much adrenaline in her body Kaerys almost fainted, but she managed a tiny, tight nod. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. 

Shyn stood up in a smooth motion from inside the wrecked speeder. Before any of them could react, she drew two weapons from inside her coat. They looked like blasters, but instead of blaster bolts, Kaerys only saw flashes of light before two of the Niktos just…  _ exploded _ … in clouds of ash. Before the remaining Niktos could turn their blasters on her, Shyn vaporized them with those same guns. She stood for a moment, weapons ready, before nodding and saying “clear.” 

Kaerys stared at her, eyes wide. She’d never even heard of weapons that could do that. And the woman had done it so quickly and with so little emotion. Kaerys felt someone take a hold of her and realized she was shaking. 

“Easy,” Grell said softly. “We’re almost there. Keep it together for a little longer. There will be time for this later. Right now we need to move.” 

Kaerys never took her eyes of Shyn, who stared back with icy blue, steady eyes that shone from the shadows of her hood. There was no emotion in those eyes. No anger, or pity. Nothing. They were terrifying. 

“Kaerys,” Ruyn said. She turned finally to look at him, talking to her from across the ruined speeder. Blood was running down the left side of his face, which some dim, distant part of Kaerys’s mind noted, was still handsome. “We need to go.” 

“R-right,” she said, taking a shuddering breath and gently pushing Grell away. 

“Masks made it through,” Dasry said. Her voice was tight, but the big alien was moving easily enough, pulling a case from the back of the speeder. She began tossing masks to everyone, including Kaerys. 

“What are these for?” Kaerys asked. 

“You asked how we’re getting out of the dome,” Grell said, his voice distorted by the mask he had slipped on.

“We’re walking?” she asked, eyes wide. 

“Can’t take the speeder anymore, now can we?” 

“Grell,” Shyn said. 

“Right, we need to go before more of these damn Niktos get here. It isn’t a long walk but I’d rather not do it under fire.” 


	6. Chapter 6

Outside of the dome, Cyrkon was much as Kaerys had expected. The Hutts had treated the planet with the same selfish, exploitive mindset they used with everything else. The mask kept the air breathable, but the stink of industrial chemicals was sharp enough to make her eyes water. And because she was wearing a mask, she couldn’t wipe them. 

“This stinks,” Ruyn said. They were trudging out of the other side of the culvert, out over the barren, broken ground of the planet. 

“You’ve got a human nose,” Dasry said, sounding queasy. “You don’t know the half of it.” 

“Eyes up,” Grell growled. All of the masks were connected to communicators. “The Hutts  _ will _ send guards out here eventually. I’d at least like to see them first.” 

“Sure thing,” Ruyn sighed.

Grell gave the other human man a steady look then shook his head, moving forward while scanning the horizon. 

“I take it this is still not the time to talk about  _ why _ you people are rescuing me,” Kaerys said, her tone dry. 

“You are correct,” Grell said. 

Kaerys made a sour face and nodded. The terrain was rough but it was not especially tricky - just a lot of work. Following the… people… she had found herself with left Kaerys time to think. She knew precious little of the galaxy at large. Oraj’s palace had been the extent of her world for as long as she could remember. 

But many people came to Oraj’s palace, and Kaerys thought she recognized the kind of people she was with. They were different from Hutt’s hangers on, or the twisted professionals of the syndicates. At the same time, they certainly didn’t care about the law. None of them had seemed very worried about the blaster fire they had drawn down on the unsuspecting market. 

_ Mercenaries _ said her mother’s presence in her head. Kaerys almost tripped when she “heard” the voice, and froze when she realized it had not immediately gone away. 

“You okay?” Ruyn asked after a moment. He had turned and was looking at her with concern. 

“Oh, yes. Sorry, I’m coming,” Kaerys said hurriedly. She was certain she didn’t want the crew knowing she heard voices. They might just leave her behind. 

_ Unlikely _ , mother said in her mind again.  _ They have risked much for you. _

Kaerys slowly began following the others again. Ruyn gave her a long look then shook his head and turned back to follow the rest. 

_ Is it really you, mother? _ Kaerys thought after a moment. 

_ What does your heart tell you, darling child? _

A surge of joy filled Kaerys with energy, just as the adrenaline of the chase had earlier. 

_ But you have more pressing concerns now _ ,” mother’s voice said. 

_ What do you mean? _

_ You must learn WHY these people have risked so much for you. _

Kaerys frowned and looked at the others. They were scanning the sky for incoming Hutt air support. Kaerys glanced around but didn’t see anything. 

_ You said they were mercenaries?  _

_ Yes. _

Kaerys bit her lip, an icy trickle of fear running down her spine.  _ Mercenaries only do things for money _ . 

_ So who is paying them? _

Kaerys almost ran into Shyn who had stopped. The human woman was staring at her hard, her eyes flicking around Kaerys looking at something Kaerys couldn’t see. Kaerys immediately felt mother’s presence dissipate. The pang of loss and the fear of Shyn’s glare hurt, and Kaerys scowled at her. 

“What?” she demanded of Shyn. 

Shyn narrowed her eyes. After a moment, she shook her head and turned away. “Nothing.” 

“What do you mean nothing?” Kaerys demanded. “You looked like you wanted to kill me.” Kaerys grabbed her shoulder. 

In an instant her legs had gone out from under her and she let out cough of air as the ground hit her hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Continuing the motion of the leg sweep, Shyn spun into standing position with her weapons drawn and pointed at Kaerys. “Don’t. Touch me.” Shyn said. 

“Dead suns!” Grell exclaimed, hurrying over. “What the hell, Shyn?” 

Shyn just stared down at Kaerys, eyes narrowed. “There’s something wrong with her.” 

“What are you talking about?” Ruyn said, coming up as well. 

“We should leave her,” Shyn said. 

“Are you insane,” Ruyn demanded. “We just got her out of the city. Now you want to leave her?” 

“She’s trouble,” Shyn growled, still not looking away from Kaerys. 

“Shyn,” Grell said, and his voice was patient but unyielding. Like a particularly friendly glacier. “Lower your weapons and let the girl up. We’re taking her to the ship.” 

Shyn slowly closed her eyes and then lowered her weapons. Then she whirled on her heel and began quickly walking away from Kaerys. 

“Sorry about that,” Grell said, offering Kaerys a hand up. She took it. “Shyn’s a bit touchy.” 

“I’ve been beaten for no reason before,” Kaerys said with a bitter little smile. “I’m used to it.” 

“Well,” Grell said, frowning. “I’m sorry just the same.” 

“Me too,” said Ruyn, scowling at Shyn. “That wasn’t right.” 

“Oh yes,” said Dasry, tromping past them. “You should go give her a lesson in manners, Ruyn. That would be entertaining.” 

“Boof off, Dasry,” he grumbled. The Lasat just snickered and kept walking. 

“We’re almost to the ship,” Grell said. “We’ll all be more relaxed there.” 

******

He wasn’t lying. 15 minutes later they had boarded the ship. It was a dirty YT-2000 freighter, with a strange blue and brown paint job. Kaerys tried to keep her mouth from hanging open as they approached the ship. She had never been on a starship. Not that she could remember. It was enormous, bigger than Oraj’s barge. 

“Wow,” she breathed. 

“Welcome to the  _ Lost Saint _ ,” Grell said. He punched some keys on the hull, and a big loading dock opened up. 

“The Lost Saint?” Kaerys asked. 

“Dramatic, isn’t it?” Dasry said giving Kaerys an apologetic look. “Tried to convince him to call it the ‘Blue Bug’ but Grell likes to make an impression.” 

Grell scowled at the big Lasat. “It had this name when I  _ bought _ it!” 

“Right, right,” Dasry said. “I forgot.” 

A ramp extended down from the loading dock, crunching down onto the brittle, poisoned ground. Kaerys reached up to rub her face where the mask rested against her skin. It was uncomfortable, an itching pressure not unlike the manacles Grauf had used when she’d been disobedient. 

Her stomach churned again, thinking of Grauf. Of the way he had struggled against her as his poisoned whip had pressed against his throat. The way it vibrated in her hands when he tried to call out. It had taken so long for him to stop. Not really, she realized. But it had felt like forever. And the worst part was the entire time she had felt a grim… joy. No, not joy. Satisfaction. Killing him with the whip he had lashed her with. She could still feel the phantom pain on her skin where he had used it. She was horrified not that she had killed him. But that it felt right to do so. 

“Hey, Kaerys,” Ruyn said, shaking her out of her reverie. 

She blinked and turned to him, seeing they were the only two not on the ship. 

“We need to go,” he said. “Come on.” He beckoned to her. 

She followed him up the ramp and into the ship. He paused once they were up to press a button on a small control panel, and the ramp hissed and began to fold back up, closing the loading bay behind them. 

The inside of the ship was… a bit of a let down. The loading dock just looked like a modestly sized room. There was a big clear space where she imagined the speeder they had ridden just barely fit. The rest of it was filled with all manner of crates strapped down to the floor. 

“This way, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the crew,” Ruyn said. 

She nodded, looking around the room. They went through a door, into a small room with racks of weapons and armor on the walls, and through the other side into a short hall that lead to a modestly sized kitchen. There was a simple table with two chairs, a sofa built into one wall, and a small bar on the opposite side. It was simple and fairly clean. 

“This is the kitchen,” Ruyn said, redundantly. “There’s food, booze and tea for Aena.” 

“Aena?” 

“She’s our pilot,” Ruyn explained. “You’ll meet her in a second.” 

“Oh, okay.” 

There was a mechanical whirring sound from the opposite side of the kitchen and a bizarre droid rolled into view. It had four wheels on a broad base, and a bronze colored “torso” that looked far too large for the wheels. It had a pair of massive, bronze colored arms that would have scraped along the floor at the  _ elbows _ if they weren’t folded up. A smaller pair of three fingered arms, a completely different color and style than the rest of the droid, extend from the chest. One of them waved at Kaerys. From the torso extended a long mechanical neck, and a disk shaped “head”, clearly of a third completely different style sat atop it. The disk rotated until a single black eye lens focused on her. 

“Greetings, crago,” the droid chirped in a buzzing voice. 

Kaerys blinked. “Cargo?” 

“Not cargo, guest,” Ruyn said quickly, his cheeks flushed. “Kaerys, this is Effone-Emeight.”

“Greetings, Kaerys,” the droid said, nodding its head mechanically. 

“Um, hello,” she replied. There had been plenty of droids at Oraj’s palace but none of them had been has… cobbled together… as Effone-Emeight clearly was. 

“Ruyn,” the droid buzzed. “Grell wants you to take our... “ its eye focused in and out on Kaerys for a moment “...guest to its room so we can lift off.” 

“ _ Her _ room, Emeight,” Ruyn sighed. “And yeah, sure.” 

“Roger roger,” the droid chirped in a voice different than its speaking one. Then it rotated in place and rolled off back the way it came. 

“Well,” Kaerys said. “It’s certainly… unique.” 

“Embree made it,” Ruyn said with a weary sigh. 

“Embree?”

“Our engineer,” Ruyn said. “I guess we’ll have to wait until after we get out of here for the introductions.” 

Kaerys swallowed and she nodded. The sooner they were away from Oraj, the better. Ruyn nodded back and beckoned her with a nod of his head. They went the way Emeight had gone, a short hall that branched at a crossroads. Ruyn led her to the right and they went down a curving hall past several doors. Kaerys pictured the outside of the ship in her mind and realized they were walking along the curved outer hull. At the end of the hall there was a final door, which Ruyn opened with a flick of a switch. 

The room on the other side was small, even smaller than her cell back in the palace. There was a bed built into a hollow in one wall, a small sink with a mirror, and a chair with one looked like a fold out desk built into one arms. The chair had straps built into it. 

“It’s not much, but it’s yours,” Ruyn said. “You’ll want to get into that seat and buckle up. We’re going to be leaving in a hurry.” 

“Oh, right, thanks,” Kaerys said. 

“Do you need a hand with the buckles?” Ruyn asked. 

“I… what?” 

He shrugged. “Figure you’ve never been in a ship before, or at least not in a long time.” 

She felt her cheeks burn. “Yes, thank you.” 

Ruyn helped her into the seat and quickly snapped the belts and buckles. Then he patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Things will calm down once we’re out of orbit.” 

“Okay,” she said, forcing a small smile. 

Ruyn nodded and stepped back out of the small room. He punched a button and the door to her room closed. She heard his footsteps clanking away on the floor. It was quiet for a moment, and then she felt the ship vibrate and whining sound came from back where the engines were. She felt the ship rise, and then she was rocked to one side as it sped off. The next few moments were a nauseating, confusing series of jerking motions, up down and around. Kaerys wondered in terror if they were being chased by Oraj’s people, maybe in gunships. She had no idea. There were no windows in her tiny room. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself against the arms of the chair, praying that it would be over soon, one way or another. 

After an eternity, it stopped. The ship leveled off, and after one last surge of motion, it was still inside her room. Kaerys blinked her eyes open. The only sound was a gentle hum in the hull. Then she heard a scratching sound. Something sharp and hard against metal. 

In the wall behind her chair. 


	7. Chapter 7

If someone had told Kaerys a week ago that she would find herself in space, strapped to a chair while some horrible space abomination crawled through the walls, she would have laughed. Not a real laugh, but a “you’ve had too much spice sir” laugh. She’d used it enough working in Oraj’s palace. While she knew she had never used spice herself, it was almost comforting to wonder if she’d been slipped some and was imagining all of this. 

Her hands were shaking as she fumbled to get the shiny buckles of the seat undone. The scratching sound was moving around the walls of the room. 

“Oh gods,” she whispered, her thready voice barely making it out of her mouth. “Oh gods.” 

Buckles were a very old technology by galactic standards. But so was terror, and the two interacted poorly. It Kaerys a subjective eternity to get the buckles undone, and then she sprang out of her seat, looking wildly around the room for vents that… whatever it was… might come in through. She backed up to the door, slapping at buttons on the console. It hissed open and she staggered back through it before turning and running. 

“Ruyn!” she shouted. She could hear the scrabbling sound seem to follow her, up in the ceiling. 

She was staring up so she didn’t see Ruyn come around the corner. She slammed into him and they both fell back on their rears. He made a coughing sound when they hit and sat blinking in a daze when he landed. 

“Oh gods, Ruyn, there’s something in here,” she cried, scrambling onto her hands and knees over to him. 

“What?” he asked. “What are you talking about?” 

“Listen,” she hissed. Her heart was racing as the clicking, scrabbling sound moved closer. Then one of the vents in the ceiling swung open and… a thing crawled out. 

It was almost as big as she was, with a waxy brown carapace and a strangely fleshy face. Large insectoid eyes swiveled over to her and it let out a buzzing, hissing string of croaks. 

Kaery’s eyes went wide and all of her limbs twitched at once, as they all tried to get her away from the thing without checking on what the other limbs were doing. She screamed. The thing stopped in startled surprise. 

“Hey, woah, Kaerys,” Ruyn said. She felt his hands on her shoulders. She tried to struggle but his grip was surprisingly strong. “Easy.” 

“What in the  _ void _ IS that thing?” 

“That’s Embree,” Ruyn said. 

“What?” She blinked and turned to him, still breathing hard, and not letting the thing out of her sight. 

“He’s the ship’s engineer, the one who made Emeight. I told you.” 

“You didn’t tell me he looked like THAT!” She snapped, indicated the thing with one emphatic hand. 

“Sorry, there wasn’t time,” Ruyn said. The alien in the vent let out another string of clicks and croaks. 

“What is it saying?” She asked. 

“No idea,” Ruyn said. “I’ve never learned his language. Emeight!” He shouted the last word. In a few moments there was a whirring sound and the mis-matched droid rolled into view. 

“Yes, Ruyn?” 

“Can you translate for Embree for us?” 

“Of course.” Then it sent a string of buzzing clicks at the alien, which replied in kind. 

“The Creator wants to know if you are okay, guest.” 

“What?”

The alien buzzed again. “He says you fell and seemed frightened. He is sorry for startling you.” 

Kaerys blinked again. “Oh, um…” She swallowed and felt her cheeks flush. Her heart was still racing. “Y-yes. I am fine.” 

After another bit of relaying the droid carried Embree’s reply. “He is happy to hear that.”

“Thank you, Embree,” Ruyn said. 

“What is he?” Kaerys asked in a low voice. 

“A Geonosian,” said Grell, walking into view. Kaerys blushed harder and quickly got back up to her feet. Ruyn did the same. 

“What is that?” Kaerys asked, watching Embree crawl down out of the vent to go over to the droid. She noticed it had wings, though one of them had been cut in half. The legs on that side of the alien’s body had also been replaced with mechanical parts, as if they had been cut off by the same slice of some blade. 

“An alien species. All but wiped out by the Empire,” Grell said, his expression sad as he watched Embree checking in on the droid. “As far as I know, he’s the last of his kind.” 

“Oh,” Kaerys said, and suddenly her heart ached. As far as she knew, she was the last of her kind as well. She licked her lips and then said “Emeight?” 

“Yes guest?” The droid asked, turning its disk head as Embree kept working. 

“Please...please tell Embree I’m sorry for the way I reacted. It was… rude of me.” 

The droid buzzed at its creator, which stopped and turned to her. It smiled. The expression was odd on its alien face, but unmistakable. Then it clicked and croaked. 

“He says that it’s okay. He accepts your apology.” 

“Thank you,” Kaerys said. The alien nodded and turned back to the droid. 

“I appreciate you being polite to him,” Grell said, nodding to her. “Most guests never see Embree. I’ve noticed many of my fellow humans have a tendency to be quite rude to aliens who don’t speak Basic.” 

“There were… many such aliens at Oraj’s palace, sir,” Kaerys said. “Learning to be polite was… encouraged.” 

Grell gave her an indecipherable look, then nodded. “I see. Well, lets get you up to the cockpit to meet the last member of our crew.” 

“Who would that be?” 

“Our pilot. She’s… a character.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Ruyn muttered, though he sounded amused. 

Grell gave him a look. “She’s very good. We’ll be together for a little while so I figur eit’s best if everyone gets acquainted?” He started walking down the hall, turning to go straight away from the kitchen. Kaerys followed. 

“A while, sir?” 

“We didn’t know when we’d be able to get you out of the palace. Arrangements need to be made to meet up with your benefactor.” 

“The person who paid for me,” she said, her voice emotionless. 

Grell stopped and turned. “The person who paid us to  _ rescue _ you, Kaerys. I am many things, and some of them aren’t very good. But a slaver will  _ never _ be one of them.” There was a firmness to his final statement. Not so much anger as a challenge to the universe itself. Kaerys swallowed. 

“O-okay. I’m sorry for misunderstanding.” 

“It’s alright,” Grell said, his hard expression softening. “You grew up around the Hutts. The rest of the galaxy isn’t that thuggish.” 

“Most of it, anyway,” Ruyn said with a shrug. Grell gave him a look, and Ruyn just smirked. They started walking again. 

“This is all… very sudden, sir.” Kaerys said, looking down at her hands. “I have never… I don’t…”

“I understand,” Grell said. There was a warmth to his voice. She noticed he was careful to keep a distance between them. Not out of fear or dislike. It seemed like he wanted to… reassure her. “We’ll try and help you as much as we can.” 

“Right,” Ruyn said. “We’ve been around the block. So if you have any questions, ask away.” 

“Where are we going?” 

Ruyn blinked and Grell gave him a look. “Uh…” Ruyn said, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. “Good question.” 

Grell snorted and then brought them all to a stop in front of a door. He punched the keypad and it opened up onto the cockpit. 

Kaerys’s breath caught in her throat and her mouth fell open. Through the big windows she saw an endless expanse of black, filled with stars. More than she could take in. They stretched out into infinity. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and she gasped, her eyes watery with sudden tears. 

“Kaerys, are you okay?” Ruyn asked, his voice distant. 

“I’ve never,” she started before taking a gasping breath. “I knew they were out there… of course but… I couldn’t…”

“You’ve never seen stars before,” Grell said, his voice gentle. “The smog always blocked them.” 

“Pictures,” she murmured, taking a step forward and wiping her eyes, staring out at the pinpoints of light that surrounded… everything. “They… didn’t do them justice.” 

“Nothing ever could,” came a soft woman’s voice. 

Kaerys blinked her water eyes and looked down to see a woman sitting in the pilot’s seat. Her skin was almost red bordering on magenta, with a pair of black marks above her eyebrows. Long, shining black hair framed her face. Her violet eyes were bright and intent on Kaerys and her black lips quirked in a knowing smile. “Oh… hello,” Kaerys said. 

“I’m Aena,” the woman said, extending one hand. She wore a black flight suit, like a fighter pilot in a holovid. When Kaerys shook her hand, her smile widened showing very white, delicately pointed canines. 

“I’m Kaerys,” she murmured, trying not to stare at Aena’s violet eyes. 

“Nice to meet you,” Aena said. Ruyn snorted behind them, and she turned and made a gesture at him. “Boof off, Ruyn.” 

“Take it easy Aena, she’s only been in space for 5 whole minutes,” Ruyn said back. 

Aena gave him a rueful look. “And I’m just introducing myself.” 

“Alright, alright,” Grell said, rolling his eyes. “Enough you two.” 

Kaerys felt certainly she was in the middle of something, and she didn’t like the feeling. She gave Grell a thankful look. Then she turned back out to look out the windows. So many of those stars had worlds. Billions of people. Millions of buildings. And one of those worlds was her home. Dathomir. A pang went through her, the whisper of mother’s presence brushing her mind. A longing that was hers and more. For a place she had never seen and barely heard of. A word she’d never made her own. . 

Home. 

“So where to, captain?” Aena asked. 

“Take us to Kestrel station,” Grell said. “We’ll restock and get a signal out to the client.” 

“I’ll get started working out a course,” Aena said, turning her seat back towards the front and toggling switches and buttons on the console in front of her. 

Ruyn stepped up next to Kaerys. “I’m hungry how about you?” 

She hadn’t thought of anything as easy as eating, but realized she was starving. “Oh gods, yes.” 

He winked. It was simultaneously cute and irritating. “Yeah, running for your life will work up an appetite.” 

“Watch it,” Aena said, not looking up from her console. 

“Oh calm down, Aena,” Ruyn said, his tone irritable. 

Aena shook her head and gave him a skeptical look but turned back to working on the console in front of her. 

Kaerys walked out with Ruyn and when the cockpit door closed she asked quietly, “what is that?” 

“Hmmm?”  
“You and Aena,” Kaerys asked. “What’s going on there?”

“Ah,” Ruyn said with a grimace. “Aena is… very competitive.” 

“What?”

Ruyn coughed and opened the door to the kitchen, gesturing for Kaerys to go in. “I think she likes you,” he said. 

Kaerys walked in slowly and looked at him in confusion. Then her eyes widened and she flushed. “Oh. Like that.” 

“Yeah,” Ruyn said with a long-suffering smile. 

“She likes females?” Kaerys asked the question as she sat on the couch. 

Ruyn laughed as he walked to the food storage. “Near as I can tell, Aena likes everything.” 

“Except you,” Kaerys said, giving him a sidelong glance. 

He froze for just a moment. Then he chuckled. “Like I said, she’s competitive.” 

“So you two are competing over… me?” She kept the innocence in her voice, but this was a game she knew all too well. Oraj’s guests and guards had all vied for her attentions. At no point had she ever felt safe enough to enjoy those games, and she did not enjoy them now. 

Ruyn blushed. “Oh well… no. Of course not.”

“Right,” Kaerys said, her tone so dry it was almost brittle. 

Ruyn came over to her with a bottle of something and a few sticks of sweets. He handed her both, giving her an even look. “Kaerys, you’re safe. Aena will probably flirt hard enough to make a Twi’lek blush. And yes, I find you attractive and will try to make you laugh.” 

He sat down, putting space between them. “But you are free here. No one is going to make you do anything.” 

Kaerys tore open one of the sweets bar and chomped into it. She ignored Ruyn until she had eaten the entire thing. 

“There is very little I know about this situation,” she said, then took a drink from the bottle. It was slightly sweet and fizzy. “I have no money. No earthly possessions. I had to steal myself and the clothes I am wearing. I am in a space ship with complete strangers going somewhere I don’t know.”

Ruyn looked down, his expression falling with his gaze. 

Kaerys continued. “I don’t have any idea what is going on Ruyn. But I know people. And I know that I would be an  _ idiot _ to let my guard down. You have already fooled me into thinking you were someone you weren’t once.” 

He turned to respond but she held up a hand and shook her head. “You may have had very good reason for that. But it doesn’t change the facts. I don’t know who to trust. I don’t know where you are taking me. I… appreciate my freedom… such as it is. But I have no illusions about my situation.” 

Ruyn heaved a sigh. “I understand. And I’m sorry if we’ve made you uncomfortable.” 

“This entire situation is uncomfortable,” Kaerys said. Then she thought of mother’s words and took a deep breath. “But we will make it work. Just… give me time.”

“Sure,” he said. He smiled again, a lopsided thing - half cockiness and half insecurity. It made Kaerys want to roll her eyes, but she didn’t. She just forced a small smile and nodded. 

“I am very tired,” she said. “I think I will sleep.” 

Ruyn nodded. “Sure. Sleep well.” 

She wouldn’t. 


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaerys has a disturbing dream, then returns to a reality that's almost as unbelievable.

In the dream, Kaerys ran. She had never been able to run before. She had always had to stand and take it. But in the dream, she ran. Her lungs burned, her feet slapped against the dirty floor of the Oraj’s palace. Each painful, sucking breath tasted like dust. The wan yellow lights and dark doorways flashed past as she ran. She didn’t know why she was running. Only that looking back to see it would be even worse than not knowing. 

Fear was nothing new. Being afraid was like breathing - an essential part of staying alive. It kept her alert. It kept her just out of reach of drunken hands, claws and - occasionally - tentacles. It kept her from the lash of the whip. It kept her alive. 

But it was exhausting. 

Kaerys was tired. In a way she could barely understand. She knew, somehow, that being out of the palace, being free, was why. It was like the way your hands burned when you held something. Then they locked up. Then they went numb. But when it was finally time to let go, your hand wouldn’t listen. It was agony to unlock your fingers, to put down whatever it was. To try and convince your hand to go back to being a hand. Kaerys thought she had done that with her  _ entire life _ . 

She had to let go of that fear. But what if she only thought she was safe? What if she still needed her fear? It would be like a holovid character taking off their helmet on an unknown planet, hoping the air was safe to breathe. How could she possibly know? 

So instead of letting go, she ran. But the fear was hot on her heels, dragging through the dirty floor behind her. She could feel it like a chill on her neck, an unwanted gaze slipping over her skin. 

And then she tripped. 

The exhaustion flooded into her. Even before she hit the ground, she felt her limbs go limp, her spine relaxing. She hit the ground in a vicious, jarring tumble, her arms and legs flailing. The dusty floor and filthy ceiling swirled past in a kaleidoscope of confusion. And then she slid to a stop. She was still looking down the hall, the endless hall, where she had been running. But her limbs wouldn’t cooperate. They were sending the signal for  _ pain _ but not listening to the instructions her brain was giving them. 

It only took her a moment to give up. To accept her fate. Whatever she was running from would get her now. It would destroy her, she knew, in the strange logic of dreams. She had no idea what it was, but knew it was the end. With resignation, she managed to flop onto her back and look behind her. 

She saw herself. 

Sweat stood out on her brow. Her eyes were very wide, and her mouth was twisted in a horrible toothy grin. The veins in her neck were standing out, and the muscles and tendons of her arms bulged. She recognized the dress and the gloves she had been wearing when she met Ruyn. When she had… 

Grauf’s face was a purple black. His tongue lolled out of his mouth grotesquely. His eyes were rolled back. He kicked feebly, his fingers clawing weakly at the whip that Kaerys had drawn tight against his neck. He didn’t look like the monster that had abused her and frightened her her entire life. He looked like a fat old man being strangled. By her. 

She met her own eyes. She could feel the satisfaction rolling off of herself as she killed Grauf. As he sagged limply, held up only by the whip cutting into his throat. The satisfaction turned to a vicious, electric joy. Ecstasy flashed across her face, left her shaking as she heaved the dead man to the side. She smiled down at herself, whip still held taunt in her hands, and took an eager step forward. 

Kaerys screamed herself awake. 

She wasn’t in Oraj’s palace. She was alone, in the dark little “room” she had been given. On the… spaceship. The one she had escaped the palace on. Just a few hours ago… she had left her old life. Her friends. Her owner. She was free. She was free and sobbing in the dark. Her entire body was shaking. She could still feel the mix of unbridled joy and sheer horror crawling in waves across her skin. 

Never in her life had a dream been so vivid. She had woken up unsure of what had happened before. But this she  _ knew _ was a dream. And yet it was real. Too real. That hungry version of her, the killer, she could feel it still in the room. In her skin. It was completely sure and… Kaerys realized with a start… unafraid. 

She gradually got her breathing under control. Apparently no one had heard her crying out, because no one came to check on her. Slowly she calmed down, pushing the dream and its memory down. Like she had with a thousand bad memories, things she had been powerless to control or change. She pushed them down to the quiet place inside her, where she would not think about them. Would not remember them. Would not  _ feel  _ them. So she could function again. 

She stood up a little shakily, and squinted against the lights of the ship’s hall. She had to blink a few times before her eyes adjusted. She walked cautiously towards where she remembered the kitchen was, where she had left Ruyn. When she looked inside it was empty, with no sign of Ruyn or anyone else. The vague familiarity she’d had with the crew, after hours together, had faded while she slept. She was very aware that she was alone and not in control on the ship. 

She turned from the kitchen towards where she remembered the cockpit (or was it the bridge?) being. She punched the button to open the door and it slid to reveal most of the crew looking out the windows. Ruyn and the pilot - Aena, Kaerys remembered - turned as she entered. The Devaronian spoke first. 

“Hey there pretty lady,” she said, smiling warmly. 

“Uh.. hello,” Kaerys said. 

“Sleep well?” Ruyn asked in an exceedingly neutral tone. Kaerys winced internally. She had clearly made an impression before she’d left for her nap. 

“Uh, I guess,” she said. She did not want to tell them about her dream. People like them had probably killed dozens if not hundreds, she figured. They would not understand her fear. Her  _ weakness _ . 

“We’re almost to Kestrel station,” said Grell, standing next to Aena. He didn’t look back. 

“What is that? I mean I know it’s a… space station,” she said, waiving one hand. “But what kind?”

“Scrappers for the most part,” Grell said, turning to her. “They take apart dead ships and sell the pieces. But they also handle the odd asteroid. The Mining Guild runs the place.” 

“And they are just loads of fun,” Ruyn said dryly. 

“But not really?” Kaerys asked. 

“No, not really,” Grell said nodding. “The Guild was in bed with the old Empire. They don’t really care about laws, rules or anything else that might get in the way of making money. But… they only do things that make money. So long as we pay up on time, they’ll leave us alone.” 

“Besides, they are a pretty small share of the people actually in the station,” Ruyn said. “Most of the scrappers are freelances or small companies. They work together to bring the hulks in. They pay the Mining Guild rent. Probably 9 out of 10 people on the station are like that.” 

“And the rest are mining guild?” 

“And Bounty Hunter’s Guild,” said Dasry, coming up from behind. “And there’s a little New Republic office. Plus the docks for the trading ships coming through, and the bars for the crews passing through…”

“Sounds lovely,” Kaerys said with zero inflection. 

Aena let out a peel of laughter. It was rich and made Kaerys’s face heat up. Grell smiled too. “You’ll be safe,” he said. “We’ll make sure of that.” 

“Unknown ship this is Kestrel Station dock oneseven, you appear to be on approach. State your business or divert,” came a growling voice through a speaker on Aena’s console. 

Kaerys jumped at the sound, but Aena just flicked a switch with one hand. “Dock Oneseven this is  _ Lost Saint _ in for supplies and hopefully booze.” 

The voice on the other end was warmer when it spoke. “Booze is supplies  _ Saint _ . That you Aena?” 

“Me and my crew, Boffon,” Aena said quickly. 

The voice became carefully neutral. “Right,  _ Saint _ , you are cleared for berth zero-two.”

“Copy that oneseven,” Aena said. 

“I don’t see anything,” Kaerys said after a moment. 

“Sugar, we’re going fast enough to go around Cyrkon in about 5 minutes. Space is real big, we’ll get to the station in a moment,” Aena said. 

Kaerys flushed. Of course they were moving very fast. It was space. Kaerys had no real education to speak of but the fact you’d have to move very fast to go between the stars seemed obvious enough. 

After a few seconds, Ruyn lifted a finger and pointed into the void outside the window. “There.” 

Kaerys narrowed her eyes. It took her a second, but she saw a grey speck growing impossible fast. As it grew she saw it looked like a ring, with a notch cut into it on the side closest to them. Aena flicked a few switches and pulled back on a lever and Kaerys felt the ship start to decelerate. Meanwhile the ring kept growing and growing. 

“Dead stars,” Kaerys breathed, watching it grow and grow. 

“Yeah, it’s a big one,” Dasry commented. “Heard it’s an old battle ship from the Clone Wars.” 

“The what?”

“The war that founded the Empire,” Dasry explained. “Before my time. I guess the Empire was the good guys back then. And this was one of the ships the bad guys used.” 

“It’s a ship?” Kaerys asked, eyes wide. 

“Not anymore,” Grell said. “They removed the engines. Use the generators to fuel the lasers that dice up the hulks they destroy on the inside of the ring. No engines turns it into a space station.” 

Kestrel Station now took up most of the few, though it flew by as Aena guided the  _ Saint _ . Kaerys saw the faded words “Trade Federation” painted the size of houses. She had barely registered it before they were past. 

“Just imagine,” Dasry said with wonder in her voice. “Dozens of these things shooting it out with star destroyers, or whatever the Empire used back then.”

“Dozens?” Kaerys asked in a strangled voice. 

“It wasn’t the Empire,” Grell said gruffly, ignoring Kaerys. “It was the Republic.” 

“I thought the Republic came after the Empire,” Dasry said, cocking an eyebrow. 

“Yes well this was the Republic before the Empire which was before the New Republic,” Grell sighed. 

“So the old Republic,” Dasry said. 

“No  _ that _ was thousands of years ag- yeah, sure. It was the old Republic,” he shook his head and turned back to the window. 

“I’m just trying to understand your history here,” the Lasat said. 

“Our history?” Kaerys asked. 

“We aren’t from this part of the Galaxy,” Dasry explained. “Not originally. We came from far away as refugees. Found ourselves a home.” 

“That’s wonderful,” Kaerys said. 

“It was alright,” Dasry said, her voice cold. “Until the Empire decided we were almost as good as Wookies at being slaves.” 

Kaerys’s already pale face blanched. “I’m sorry.” 

“Almost everyone on this ship has an axe to grind with the old Empire,” Aena said, as the ship swooped towards the docking bay. 

“Anyone with a conscience has an axe to grind with the Empire,” Grell said darkly. 

“You hired me for my reflex’s, Grell,” Aena pointed out. “Not my moral compass. Besides, we’re -” 

“Here,” Grell said, cutting her off sharply and nodding to the bay which was swallowing up the ship. 

“Yeah,” Aena said, more quietly. “We’re here.” 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaerys and the crew arrive on Kestrel Station, but for her own safety, Kaerys is left behind. She learns more about the crew, and herself, as she tries to figure out her next move.

“The first thing you need to know about life on Kestrel Station is to stay close by,” Ruyn said as the ship docked. “Probably 90% of the ship is empty. If you get lost or grabbed up, it’s very unlikely anyone will find you.” 

“Grabbed up?” Kaerys asked, lifting one eyebrow. 

“This isn’t Hosnian Prime,” Ruyn said. “Rules and laws are a lot looser.” 

“She’s never been to Hosnian Prime,” Aena said, turning and stretching her arms over her head as the ship settled into its dock. It was a languid gesture and she looked quite pleased as she did it. “And I think someone who grew up under the Hutts knows all about how awful people can be, Ruyn.” 

Kaerys looked from Aena to Ruyn and gave him a little nod. He scowled and shook his head. “She was still, forgive me, Oraj’s property. She had protection she won’t have here. No one is going to know she’s from Dathomir, and they aren’t going to care.” 

Aena rolled her eyes, then stretched again, pulling her arms behind her and arching her back. It drew the flight suit tight against her skin, showing off curves and muscle, though Kaerys tried not to look too closely. Her cheeks flushed slightly which just irritated her because she was sure it was Aena wanted anyway. “You worry too much,” Aena said to Ruyn. “She’ll be fine. I’ll take care of her.” She stepped next to Kaerys and put a friendly arm around her shoulder. 

“Thank you,” Kaerys said stiffly. “I will try very hard not to get kidnapped and murdered.” 

“We’ll all try very hard to make sure you don’t get kidnapped or murdered,” said Grell, walking back into the cockpit. He had put on a long brown coat with a fur lining around the collar. She saw his balster in its holster at his hip, before he drew his coat tighter around himself. His grizzled and scarred face was still handsome under the wear and tear, but there was no mistaking him for anything but a dangerous man. 

Ruyn and Aena eyed one another before nodding and saying in unison “of course.” Kaerys delicately stepped out of Aena’s grasp and over to Grell. “Do you think there will be trouble?” 

“I think we’re out of Hutt space, but only just,” Grell said. “I would like to be discreet while we’re here, and only leave the ship when we have to. So I will go out with Ruyn and Aena to gather supplies and kiss the rings that need kissing. Shyn, Dasry and Embreetran will stay here with you to keep you safe.” 

_ Keep me prisoner _ , Kaerys thought darkly, but she kept her expression neutral. “I see. Is there any way I can be... helpful?”

“Stay safe and hidden,” Grell said with an apologetic smile. “That would be the biggest help I can imagine right now.” 

Kaerys forced a smile and a nod, but her heart sank. She had dreamed her entire life of seeing somewhere other than Oraj’s palace. And now she would spend her chance stuck in hiding on a ship. With a terrifying alien who didn’t speak Basic, the sardonic Lasat and someone who had already pointed a weapon at her. 

Despite her attempts to mask her feelings, her face must have given her away, because Grell’s expression softened. “It’s only for a short while. I promise we won’t have to hide for very long.” 

“Of course,” Kaerys said, smiling more broadly. “I just… haven’t seen much of the galaxy.” 

“There will be time,” Grell said with a small smile. 

“I understand,” she said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go to my… room.” 

She heard a quiet conversation beginning as the door slid shut behind her. She walked quickly down the hall to her room. Shyn was standing outside it. 

Outside of her mask, she was a striking woman, with dark skin and a mane of rust colored, tightly curled hair streaked with silver. Her dark eyes were focused on Kaerys, and her full lips highlighted her frown. 

“Oh, hello,” Kaerys said carefully. 

Shyn just stared at her, eyes slightly narrowed. The look didn’t carry the threat of Grauf’s glare from back on the planet. More of the head servant’s calculating look, when she was sure something was amiss. Kaerys did what she did then - nothing. She simply stood, impassively, eyes not focused on anything that could draw attention. 

“You’re like a massif,” Shyn said finally. “One with a bad owner.” She took a step towards Kaerys, tilting her head back and forth, looking her over. “You know what those are?” 

“No ma’am,” Kaerys said, holding very still. Shyn started walking around her. 

“They are these… lizard things… that like the desert. The gangster on Tatooine use them as guards and trackers. Sometimes even pets.”

“I see.”

“They learn from their masters, you see,” Shyn said. “Not just sit and attack. But then master is in a bad mood. When master might lash out. Whether it’s food coming or a kick in the snout.” 

“That seems prudent.” 

Shyn laughed. It wasn’t an unpleasant sound, but it was hard and ended quickly. “Yes. But you see… those same massifs, they behave like their masters too. They become as savage as their masters, as temperamental. ‘Training another man’s massif’ is a saying they have for ‘fool’s errand.’” 

Kaerys narrowed her eyes. “You think I am like Oraj because he… owned me.” 

“I think you learned to survive,” Shyn said. “I think you were put in a den of thieves and murderers and worse, and you came out alive.”

“Some would think that admirable,” Kaerys noted. 

“Oh I admire the hell out of it,” Shyn said with a smile, and then her face hardened. “But I also know what it takes. What you have to become to live through that.” She leaned in close, her eyes locked on Kaerys’s. “To survive a monster, you have to be a monster. And you had to be that monster your whole life. These people… even Grell… they don’t know what that’s like. I. Do. I know you would shove any one of us out an airlock to save your skin.” 

“Why are you saying these things?” Kaerys hissed, her eyes burning. There was something ugly heaving in her chest, scraping at her ribs. 

“Because I know this nice servant girl look is an act. I heard what you did to that man back at Oraj’s palace. Garotted him. With his own whip even,” Shyn said. Her voice was cold. “You’re a killer.”

“I hardly think anyone on this ship isn’t,” Kaerys said, her own voice frosty. 

“When we have to,” Shyn said. “To save our lives.” 

“If I hadn’t killed Grauf…”

“Then Dasry would have taken care of him. You’ve seen her, she’d have knocked him out with one punch.” 

“I didn’t know.” 

“You know what the normal thing to do then would have been?” Shyn asked. “To  _ run away _ . To scream for help. To hide. But you didn’t. You grabbed that whip and you strangled that guy. I don’t know who he was… maybe a real piece of work. But you know what I do know? Without anyone telling me. Without seeing it.” 

Kaerys was trembling, her teeth clenched as she hissed, “What?”

“You enjoyed it,” Shyn said. There was no emotion in the words. But they slammed into the memory of her dream and the truth of them resonated inside Kaerys like a great, terrifying bell. Her eyes widened as she looked at Shyn. 

“I’m just here to tell you that if you try it with any of my crew, if you put any of us in danger. I will end you. No matter how much that stuck-up witch is paying. So don’t play any games. Don’t think about pulling anything. Grell has a good heart,” Shyn said, resting her hands on the grips of her weapons. “I don’t. I’m like you. And if you hurt my people, I will hurt you much worse than anything Oraj’s dumb little goons could imagine.” 

With that, Shyn stepped past Kaerys and walked down the hallway. Kaerys didn’t turn to watch her go. She could follow the footsteps easily enough. Even when they’d faded away, she stood for a long moment. Quivering in place. She was terrified of Shyn. The other woman was poised and deadly. And could apparently read minds. 

_ The strength in her merely sees the strength in you, _ Mother’s voice said softly.  _ She merely wants you to understand that she sees it and respects it.  _

“Respect?” Kaerys hissed, before casting a nervous glance back down the hall. “Wait a moment.” She pressed the button to her room’s door, entered, and then closed it behind her. 

_ Yes, child, _ Mother said. 

“What about  _ that _ was respectful?” 

_ If she did not think you could do her or her crew harm, why would she bother?  _

Kaerys clenched her jaw. Her fear was quickly evolving into anger.  _ I wish I could teach her some real respect!  _ she thought. 

_ She would kill you in an instant, child,  _ came mother’s reply. 

_ Not if I got the drop on her.  _

_ You could not. Not as you are.  _

_ What… what does that mean?  _

_ You could be more my child, much more.  _

_ I don’t understand.  _

_ Some women of our people were gifted with power far beyond anything you’ve dreamed of. I can feel that gift in you. If only you let it grow.  _

_ What is this gift?  _

_ Power.  _

_ I do not feel powerful.  _

_ Because you fear your power. You believe you are weak, that you must be weak! _

_ I have always felt weak.  _

_ That will change.  _

_ I have always felt like a prisoner.  _

_ The first chains you must remove… are the ones you placed on yourself.  _

Kaerys was thinking of another question when someone knocked on her door. She suddenly felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her. One moment she was completely focused on Mother’s voice, the next she was trembling and felt weak in the knees. 

“Y-yes,” she stammered against the sudden shivering. 

“It’s me,” came the growl of Dasry. “Grell told us you would be staying back with us.” 

“Yes,” said Kaerys, slowly steadying herself. 

“Ruyn thought you might like some company.” 

“I see,” Kaerys said, narrowing her eyes, trying to think through his motivations. 

“Well, would you?” the Lasat asked. “I can leave you alone if you’d rather…”

“No,” Kaerys said quickly. “I… will come out. Is there food?”

“Emeight is cooking some stew right now,” Dasry said, she sounded almost hopeful. 

“I will join you in the kitchen soon,” Kaerys said. 

“Oh. Good,” Dasry said. Then Kaerys heard her walk away. She took a few more steadying breaths then turned her thoughts inward. 

_ Mother? _

There was no response. She tried again with the same result. Then she sighed and opened the door to her room to join the others who had been left behind. 

*******

“They are both big softies,” Dasry said between mouthfuls of stew. It was fragrant, but Kaerys was so full after her first bowl that she was taking her time with the second. 

“Ruyn I could maybe see that with,” Kaerys replied. “But Aena?” 

Dasry snorted. Somehow it sounded more dignified coming from the Lasat than from a human. “All bluster.” 

They had been dining together for about an hour. Kaerys had turned the conversation to the crew to avoid talking about herself. Dasry had been more than happy to gossip about her compatriots. Embree sat a bit apart, eating his stew while fidgeting with some piece of machinery using both his organic and synthetic parts. Emeight stood behind him impassively, occasionally moving to refill empty bowls. Shyn was, thankfully, nowhere to be seen. 

“She seems very confident,” Kaerys said of Aena. 

“Oh she’s cocky,” Dasry agreed, tipping her bowl back to drink the last of her fourth helping. “But she’s a good one too.” 

“What makes you say that,” Kaerys asked. 

“One, I’ve seen it,” Dasry said putting down her bowl. “And two, I can always tell with people.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah,” Dasry said. “Like you. I can tell you want to be a good one. But… you’ve had a hard time.” 

“Well,” Kaerys said uncomfortably. 

“Kid, we’ve  _ all _ had a hard time,” Dasry said. “Grell was a smuggler for the Alliance during the Empire. Not just weapons. People. Prisoners. Medicine. He saw some hard things. He rescued Shyn from some Imperial installation. Can’t imagine what they did to her to make  _ her _ so hard.”

“So it’s not just me?” Kaerys said, looking down at her bowl. 

Dasry snorted again. “Hardly. Took her maybe a month before she’d do much more than glare at me.” 

Embree let loose with a series of clicks, croaks and whistles. Kaerys was looking to Emeight to translate but Dasry did it herself. “He says she still doesn’t talk to him.” 

“The language barrier is… wait you speak his language?” 

“He taught me,” Dasry said. “Took some time. But I’m the muscle. I don’t have a lot to do when we’re not smashing things. So Embree and Emeight taught me Geonosian.” 

“Why? It’s…” she looked at Embree apologetically, “no offense but it’s not a very useful language.” 

“It lets me talk to my friend,” Dasry said coolly. “I’d say that’s pretty useful.” 

“Oh,” Kaerys said, and her cheeks burned with shame. “Of course.” 

“Haven’t had too many of those, have you?” Dasry asked. 

“Oh, um, just… the one,” Kaerys said. Dea. Dea who had been more than just a friend in about a million ways. And who Kaerys would never see again. Tears burned in her eyes suddenly, running in molten rivulets down her cheeks. She struggled to keep her sobs contained. She was so embarrassed. So weak. 

“Hey it’s okay,” Dasry said. “I shouldn’t have brought that up, this is all so fresh for you.” She put an enormous hand on Kaerys’s back and rubbed it gently with her thumb. It was oddly comforting and Kaerys leaned into it without thinking. After a moment, she stopped crying. She wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. 

“I’m sorry,” Kaerys said, her voice remarkably calm even to her. “It has just been a long couple of days.” 

Dasry nodded. “I remember when I escaped Lasan. I was just a kid but… it was hard.” 

“What happened,” Kaerys says. “That is… if you want to talk about it.” 

The Lasat shrugged. “The Empire came. They killed the royal family. They killed the high honor guard. They killed my people. The Wookies got us out. One of the last ships to leave the planet before an Imperial blockade.” 

“Why?” Kaerys asked. “Why would they do that?”

“We Lasats are proud,” Dasry said. “We don’t take much to being told what to do. We didn’t want to join the Empire. We didn’t particularly want to fight it either but… the Emperor was not a fan of aliens. And they got to test their weapons on us.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Disruptors,” Dasry said, growling the word. 

“What are they?”

“Weapons that disintegrate you. Vaporize organic beings,” the Lasat said coldly. “And you feel every cell dying.” 

“Wait… doesn’t Shyn…” Kaerys began. 

Dasry’s eyes went flat and she simply nodded. 

“Oh,” Kaerys said. 

“Anyway, we took shelter on Kashykk for a while,” Dasry said after shaking her head. “I was barely grown when I first joined the Alliance. When we won the war, some friends pointed me Grell’s way and I’ve been working for him ever since.” 

“He’s one of the good ones?” Kaerys asked. 

“Definitely,” Dasry said with a definitive nod. “The best. He saved Embree too. Found him at a different Imperial installation. They were keeping him in some kind of zoo for species the Empire had wiped out.” 

“Like our peoples,” Kaerys said. 

“It turns out not like mine,” Dasry said. “A little while ago, we found our original homeworld. I’ve… never been.” 

“Why not?”

Dasry shrugged one big shoulder. “It’s not  _ my _ homeworld. My homeworld is still Lasan. Going to Lira San seems like… a betrayal. The  _ Saint _ is my home now.” 

Embree whistled and croaked again, only partially turning from his tinkering. 

“It’s his home too,” Dasry said. “His homeworld was poisoned by the Empire. Nothing lives there anymore.” 

“What about… what about Dathomir?” Kaerys asked. 

Dasry’s eyebrows went up. “As far as I know… it’s still… well it’s a nightmare swamp full of monsters and ghosts. But as far as I know, it has always been that way.” 

“So my people…” Kaerys began. 

Dasry sighed and dropped her gaze. “If any are still there, no one has seen or herd from them in decades, kid.”

Kaerys’s eyes burned again and she shut them against the rising tide of tears. “It was foolish to hope,” she hissed before silent sobs wracked her again. 

She heard a scrabbling sound, and then a small, warm hand patted hers. She heard Embree clicking gently. 

“He says it’s never foolish to hope,” Dasry translated. “But we can’t live on hope alone.” 

Dead stars was that ever true. Hope was the road to disappointment. An empty meal that left you wanting more. Kaerys had thought she’d given up on hope long ago. Until this rescue. She was… not free. But more free than she had been. 

But she was still alone. Her people were gone. 

_ Except _ , Mother’s voice said softly _ , for you. _


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaerys has been left behind on the ship with her new friends. But one of her compatriots seems openly hostile, and there is trouble afoot. With a search underway, Kaerys talks with the one she's always known, and learns something new about herself.

There is no day and night on a space station. Kaerys found it very hard to judge the passage of time. The temperature, the lighting - neither changed as time passed. But she knew it was passing. It was a frightening sensation, but she fought to keep it to herself. But when the weight of that passage became unbearable, she had to tell someone. 

“Emeight,” she said to the droid. “How long has the captain been gone?” 

“Eight hours and twenty-two minutes, guest,” the droid chirped back cheerily. 

“That seems like a long time for picking up supplies,” she bit her lip. 

“It is true,” the droid responded, nodding its weird head. “They normally do not take this long.” 

“What are you on about?” Dasry asked, poking her head out of what Kaerys assumed was her room. 

The droid spun in a whir to look at the big Lasat. “The captain has been gone a long time.” 

Dasry furrowed her brow. “How long has it been?” 

“Eight hours,” Shyn said, gliding out of the cockpit. 

“And twenty-two minutes,” Emeight added. Everyone gave the droid a flat look which did not seem to phase it in the least. 

“That’s… a long time,” Dasry said to Shyn. 

“Too long,” Shyn agreed. 

“What do we do?” Dasry asked. 

“We need to figure out what happened,” Shyn said. “ _ I _ need to figure it out.” 

“I take it you  _ don’t _ want back up,” Dasry said dryly. 

“How many other Lasats do you think are out there?”

Dasry just sighed and pulled her head back into her room. 

Kaerys eyed Shyn warily. “Is there any way I can help? Besides hiding in my room?” 

Shyn smiled slightly and inclined her head in a small nod. “Yes actually.” 

Kaerys blinked. “How?” 

Shyn nodded for Kaerys to follow and lead her back to the cargo bay of the ship. When they arrived she nodded an old Comet Omnicleaner leaning against the wall. “Emeight is generally pretty good at keeping things clean, but he doesn’t work back here in the bay. You can clean it up while I’m gone.” 

Kaerys eyed her. “And this helps how?” 

Shyn shrugged. “It keeps you occupied and in the ship. It’s less work for the crew when they return. And Grell will appreciate it.” 

“None of that gets them back,” Kaerys noted dryly. 

“We each have our jobs,” Shyn said crisply. “ _ I  _ am finding them.  _ You _ are cleaning.” She turned and walked back the way she came. 

Kaerys narrowed her eyes at Shyn as the woman walked away.  _ Respect, eh? _ She sent the thought to the “place” where Mother seemed to speak from. 

_ Regardless of how she treats you, _ Mother replied,  _ you cannot win against her. _

_ Tell me more about this power. _

_ Hmmm _ , Mother responded.  _ Close your eyes _ . 

Kaerys did so. The darkness seemed to amplify the creaks of the ship, and the deeper moans resonating in Kestrel Station itself. 

_ You must ignore sound too _ , Mother said.  _ Block out taste, touch, smell - all of them.  _

Kaerys set her jaw and focused hard on nothing. On the idea of nothing. First she narrowed her hearing to just her own breathing. Then the subtle sound of her heartbeat in her ears. As she did, her other senses seemed to retreat too. And when her heartbeat was all that was left, she pushed it aside too. It was a bizarre, frightening void. There was… a fizzing sensation. But it wasn’t on her skin. It prickled against her  _ mind _ . 

_ There! _ Mother gasped.  _ Yes _ .  _ That is the power. You are sensing it leaving your body.  _

_ Leaving it?  _ Kaerys asked, worried. 

_ It comes from within you. All living things create it _ . 

_ So I cannot… run out of it? _

_ No _ , Mother said, and there was a laugh in her voice.  _ It comes from you and through you. Connecting you to all living things. This space station has few enough. It should be easy to find them _ . 

_ How? _

_ First feel the power, follow it into yourself.  _

Kaerys did. It felt like hot water filled with ice that was melting but never diminishing. A swirl of sensation that tried to crystalize and explode simultaneously. It reminded her of the fury she had felt towards Shyn, the serenity when she sang for Dia. 

_ Now follow it as it as leaves you _ . 

Kaerys did, letting her awareness flow with the sensation as it slipped past her skin. It split and split over and over until she was riding a tiny thread. And then she felt the thread entwine with another. It was just like hers but different, yet still familiar. With a jolt she realized. 

_ Dasry! This is Dasry! _

_ It comes from her, yes, _ Mother said.  _ If you follow it you will find her.  _

_ Is this her… her soul? _

_ It is the force that animates her, _ Mother said.  _ Soul is as good a word as any _ . 

Kaerys followed the thread. More threads joined it and it thickened, like the branches of a tree until she found the source, Dasry herself. The Lasat was like a tree with a smooth hard trunk. It was warm to the touch, but Kaerys could somehow sense there was a scaffold of ice inside, giving the tree its structure and shape. Then she felt… worried. Anxiety crawled into Kaerys’s mind vermin, thousands of tiny legs prickling her consciousness. She began to thrash and suddenly her eyes flew open and the sound and feeling and sights of the world hammered into her. She fell over. 

“What… happened…” she panted, forgetting to think her question. 

_ Those were Dasry’s emotions, _ Mother said, her soft accent slightly magnified.  _ You are strong indeed if you felt them so strongly by accident _ . 

_ What is she worried about? _ Kaerys asked, trying to catch her breath as she moved the conversation back inside her head. 

_ I would assume _ , Mother said,  _ she is worried about the crew child. She clearly has no love for this Shyn woman either. _

_ That makes sense. How do I… avoid that in the future? _ She shuddered at the memory of Dasry’s emotions seeping into her. 

_ You must keep your distance, advance slowly. Practice _ . 

Kaerys still felt weak from the experience. She shook her head.  _ Not now _ . 

_ No. _ Mother said, agreeing.  _ There will be time _ . 

It took her only a few minutes to learn how to operate the omnicleaner, and then she let herself fall into the familiar rhythms. True, it was a starship and not Oraj’s palace, but cleaning was cleaning. It occupied her body and mind, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t thinking or worrying about anything. Kaerys was deeply relieved by the escape from her terrifying and uncertain new reality. 

Between her absorption and timelessness of space, she had no idea how long she had been cleaning when she heard boots approaching the cargo bay. The sound startled her into freezing for just a moment, then she crept as quickly and quietly as she could back toward Dasry’s room. 

“Dasry,” she hissed. The Lasat was already coming out with a large blaster in one hand. 

“Yeah, I hear ‘em,” Dasry growled back. She started walking towards the cargo door, when Shyn appeared walking up the ramp. Aena and a battered looking Grell followed her. 

“What in space happened to you, Captain?” Dasry asked. Kaerys stood several steps behind her, trying to look inconspicuous. 

“We are not as far out of Hutt Space as I thought,” Grell growled. He had a deep purple bruise on one side of his face, and Kaerys thought there were blaster burns on his coat. 

“We got jumped trying to pick up some parts for the ship,” Aena said with a grimace. “Some humans and an Aqualish.”

“You’re sure they were with the Hutts?” Dasry asked. 

“They made sure we knew,” Grell said with a grunt. “Only got away when security forces showed up. Winding up in the brig is better than being dead.” 

“Where is Ruyn?” Kaerys asked. 

Aena and Grell shared a sad look. “They took him. I don’t know where and I don’t know what they are going to do with him,” Grell said. 

Kaerys’s eyes widened. “Oh.” 

“What are we going to do?” Dasry asked. 

“He’s one of ours,” Shyn said shortly. “We’ll get him back.” 

“How?” Dasry said with a scoff. “I doubt security will be much help.” 

“No, we’ll do this ourselves,” Shyn said. 

A sudden dread filled Kaerys and she looked at Shyn hard. She gave her a chill smile. “I see.” 

“See what?” Dasry asked. 

“I will be bait,” Kaerys said, not looking away from Shyn. 

The other woman inclined her head, acknowledging the point. “Smart girl.”

“Wait, you’re going to offer Kaer?” Aena demanded. Kaerys blinked at the nickname. 

Grill narrowed his eyes at Shyn, then pursed his lips thinking. “Could work.” 

“What the hell, Grell,” Aena asked, scowling. 

“You have a better plan?” Grell growled at her, wincing as he walked up past Dasry. 

“Getting paid? I’m not saying we leave Ruyn but if we lose her,” Aena trailed off at the end. 

Grell walked until he was standing in front of Kaerys. His blue eyes were serious as he looked down at her. He reached out one big, calloused hand and took hers in it. She looked up at him. “I know you don’t know us, Kaerys. I know you’ve already had more danger than you’ve ever faced before. But I don’t leave people behind.” 

“Do you have any idea,” she said quietly, her heart pounding, “what Oraj will do to me if he gets me back? My… exotic nature… won’t save me. The Hutts have no class… but they can be  _ very _ creative when they want to.” Her eyes flicked to Shyn on that last remark. 

“They  _ won’t _ get you back,” Grell said calmly. “I swear it on my life. All of us will.” 

Kaerys doubted very much that Shyn would risk her life her. But she believed Grell would, if for no other reason than he had decided he would. And Shyn would die for Grell. That much was certain. 

Kaerys clenched her jaw and then let out a slow breath of air. She turned from Grell to Shyn. “What did you have in mind?” 

*******

“The Hutt’s factor here on Kestrel is a Harch named Gavor,” Grell said later. Everyone was seated around the kitchen. Kaerys sat between Dasry and Aena on the couch, with the others spread about the room. Shyn leaned against the wall next to the door to the cargo bay. 

“How do you know that?” Dasry asked. 

“He and I were in the brig for a while,” Aena answered. “We made the best of our time and asked around.” 

The big Lasat grunted and nodded for Grell to continue. He nodded back before speaking. “Gavor is pretty old. Rumor has it he has been here since the station was first, ah, recommissioned. And he’s been working for the Hutts even longer.” 

Embree, who was sitting in what amounted to Emeight’s lap, croaked and whistled. The droid chirped back and began translating. “The Creator says Harch’s can live a long time. He also says they only get meaner as they age.” 

“What is a Harch?” Kaerys asked. 

“Big and bad,” Dasry said. “About as tall as me, but weight maybe three times as much. They have two legs and six arms. Reputation for being nasty.”

“It’s well earned,” Grell said firmly. “Gavor is well established here. He may well have arranged for security to pick us up.”

“He had you rescued from his own men?” Kaerys asked. 

“He wants you,” Shyn said from her spot on the wall. “Needs Grell alive to get you.” 

Kaerys swallowed and forced a faint smile. “I see.” 

“He won’t get her,” Aena said to Shyn, placing a reassuring hand on Kaerys’s on the couch. Her touch was warm and soft and surprised Kaerys. She looked from their hands up to Aena, but she wasn’t focused on Kaerys. She was looking at Shyn. 

“Yes, we’ve established that,” Grell said dryly. “But he needs to think we are willing to trade for Ruyn.” 

“How will you even begin to set that up?” Aena asked, turning to him. 

“I’ll make it known we’re ready to deal,” Grell said. “Then he’ll send someone to set up the exchange.” 

“It will be a trap,” Kaerys said. “Not that you probably didn’t already guess that.” 

“It will be,” Grell agreed, “but we can’t prepare for it until we know where the exchange will be.” 

“Of course,” Kaerys said. She forced another wane smile. 

“How will you get the word out?” Dasry asked. 

“I’ll go out into the market,” Grell said. When Dasry moved to interrupt he raised a hand. “Shyn will be with me. If anyone can take us both on, the rest of you should just leave. But Gavor won’t do that. He wants Kaerys. We’ll be fine.” 

Embree spoke and Emeight translated again. “The Creator wants to know what we will do while you’re gone?” 

“Rest. Then get ready for a fight. Gavor isn’t stupid, he’ll be suspecting a trap as well. We’re going to have to develop our plan on the fly. Shyn and I will handle the “exchange” as far as Gavor is concerned. The rest of you will need to support us,” Grell said. 

“Except me,” Kaerys said with another forced smile. “I’ll be right there with you. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to rest in my room for a while. I’m quite tired from cleaning.” Without waiting for a response she got up and walked out of the room. No one moved to stop her. 

After she turned the corner she leaned back against the bulkhead. It was over. Her heart had already plummeted and hit rock bottom. Her hope, foolish, stupid hope, had of course been misplaced. She was suddenly too tired to even cry. Oraj would have her back. And then he would make her wish she had died. 

“Cleaning, seriously Shyn?” Kaerys heard Aena demanding. “Why do you hate Kaer so much.” 

“Kaer,” Shyn sneered back. “Giving her a pet name won’t help you bed that one, Aena. She’s closed off to everyone. To everything. She’ll gladly turn on us to save herself. There is something… wrong about her.” 

“She’s a person,” Aena snapped back. “One who’s been through hell.”

“Why she’s broken doesn’t matter,” Shyn said, a shrug in her voice. “The fact of the matter is we can’t trust her.”

“Then why are we doing this plan?” 

“We don’t have another choice.” 

“For what it’s worth,” Dasry said. “I don’t think she’s broken. And I think we can trust her.” 

“You would,” Shyn said with a scoff. 

“Enough,” Grell said. “This is what we’re doing. We are going to get Ruyn. We’re going to keep Kaerys. And we are going to get paid.” 

“Yes, captain,” the others said with varying degrees of shame in their voice. 

“I still can’t believe you made her clean,” Aena said softly. 

“It was a kindness,” Shyn said back. 

“How?”

“That girl is so completely out of her element. She is completely lost. Everything and everyone she knew is gone. As… damaged as that life has made her, I had to give her  _ something  _ familiar. Or she’d snap.” 

“Snap?” Dasry asked incredulously. 

“You were there,” Shyn said. “When she killed that man.” 

“Yeah,” Dasry said, her voice uncomfortable. 

“Ruyn said she was growling like an animal, that she looked  _ happy _ ,” even Shyn sounded disturbed. Somehow hearing that made Kaerys feel worse than anything else she had heard. Even the monster was scared of her. 

“Well,” Dasry said. “Kaerys told me he was the guy in charge of… hurting her… for the Hutt.” 

“He might have had it coming,” Grell said, speaking softly. “But killing like that… with hate. It changes you.” He paused for a moment. “I would know. Whatever she’s been through before. It’ll take as long to get past that as all the rest. We need to be careful. But we have to do this. For Ruyn.” 

Kaerys couldn’t stand to hear anymore. She crept silently to her room. She had learned to sneak in the palace, to get food and water. Another skill to survive. Another way she had been twisted by the Hutt. The others certainly heard when her door opened. They would know she had heard. She didn’t care. With a bitter smile she thought they’d be too afraid to bother her about it. She flopped into her cot, and thought of nothing but the placid calm of giving up. 

_ Fear is better than contempt _ , Mother’s voice came to her in her head. 

_ It won’t matter _ , Kaerys thought back.  _ I am sorry mother _ . 

_ Child, _ Mother said.  _ This is far from over _ . 

_ How? Whether they are ambushed or just turn me over, Oraj will have me _ . 

_ Not if there is never an exchange _ . 

_ What do you mean? _

_ Find Ruyn yourself. _

_ How? _ Kaerys couldn’t help but scoff at the idea. 

_ The same way you found Dasry _ ,” Mother said. 

Kaerys frowned.  _ I could do that? _

_ It will not be easy _ , Mother said.  _ And you will have to leave the ship _ . 

_ There is time. For now, rest. You will need your strength _ . 

Kaerys had many questions for Mother. But she was exhausted, and sleep came quickly. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaerys uses the mysterious power inside her for the first time in an attempt to save Ruyn. But does she have the self-control to use the power well?

Kaerys casually stepped past the doorway to the cargo room in the kitchen, before stopping at one of the dispensers for tea. She took the cup to the couch, which let her look through the same door. Both times she saw the same thing, Dasry sitting on a crate, adjusting the harness on a strange, mechanical backpack. 

_ You remember what to do, _ Mother asked. 

Kaerys closed her eyes and ran through what Mother had said several times. She nodded to herself.  _ Yes _ .  _ Is this close enough? _

_ The closer the better, but you have a talent _ , Mother replied. 

Kaerys nodded again, and then started blocking out her senses once more. Mother had made her do it several times in her room. It was still difficult, but it went more quickly as her mind got used to ignoring the physical world. Once again she sensed the power that seemed to seep from her like smoke. And once again she followed the trail that led toward Dasry. 

Now that she knew what she was looking for, Kaerys could sense more of Dasry in the strands that met with her own energy. The ferocity and reliability of the big Lasat. Things she had guessed at but hadn’t known for sure. She followed the strands to wear they met nearly equally, Kaerys’s energy and Dasry’s wound together like a braid. 

_ Now, remember _ , Mother told her,  _ you must feed the thought into her energy. You must make it hers, and strong enough to matter _ . 

_ Yes, _ Kaerys said with a touch of annoyance. They had discussed it several times. 

_ What will you make her do?  _ Mother asked. 

_ Something that will make her leave without hurting her _ . 

Mother responded with the mental equivalent of a grunt. 

Kaerys took a moment to center herself then reached out for the twined energy. It felt strange, the familiar, yet alien energy, in a sense she hadn’t known existed. But she took the energy and then plucked it while sending a familiar sensation into her own energy with as much intensity as she could. A pulse of sensation left her and traveled into Dasry’s threads and onward. 

Kaerys opened her eyes and nervously took a drink of her tea, staring at Dasry through the thin veil of steam. The Lasat blinked and then looked surprised. “Oh boof,” she growled to herself, then stood up and walked quickly past Kaerys towards the bathrooms. 

_ Urination _ , Mother noted dryly.  _ I have never seen the magick used for such a thing _ . 

_ I’m sorry, Mother _ , Kaerys replied.  _ But at least it worked _ . 

She walked quickly into the cargo bay and then turned to shut the door. She turned a few knobs to lock it, which would hopefully by her enough time. Then she walked over to the button that opened the cargo ramp and pressed it. She walked out onto the ramp, and as soon as it was open enough to fit her, she got down, slid out and dropped to the ground. If she had waited for it to go all the way down, Dasry would have caught her. So she dropped 8 feet and tried to roll with the impact. It was still painful in her knees, but she started running immediately. 

There were only a few people on the walkway from the ship. Humans and aliens alike made room for her while staring at her. Some cried out in surprise, but she made her way through all of them. She slowed once she hit a crowd of people lining up to enter the station from the hangar. 

_ You will have to do it again _ , Mother said,  _ with the guard _ . 

Kaerys swallowed hard. It had been remarkably, almost frighteningly, easy to get Dasry to do what she had wanted. But a strange man, one who was on alert and suspicious, was much more frightening. And she realized she would have to time it perfectly, so as not to make any other guards suspicious. 

_ One day, you will be able to shape all of them to your will _ . 

_ I don’t want to shape them to my will _ , Kaerys said.  _ I just want them to let me past.  _

_ Modest goals for your modest circumstances, _ Mother said amiably.  _ You will rise above them in time, child _ . 

_ I’m on my second escape this week _ , Kaerys answered wryly.  _ We’ll worry about higher goals after this _ . 

_ Loftier, _ Mother said. 

_ What? _

_ Loftier goals, child.  _

Kaerys rolled her eyes and stepped forward. She was only a couple of spots back from the guards now. She turned her head to sneak a furtive glance back at the ship. A small figure, Aena then, was at the bottom of the cargo ramp, looking around. Kaerys turned quickly back to the line in front of her. A pang of guilt went through Kaerys’s chest. The crew would be worried. 

_ They plan to sell you anyway _ , Mother pointed out. 

_ They rescued me, _ Kaerys said. 

_ For a price _ . 

_ I need to focus right now _ . 

Mother only chuckled in response. 

“Chaincode,” a deep male voice said. 

Kaerys blinked and focused on the guard in front of her. He looked bored, but there was a blaster at his hip. His attention was on a datapad in his hands. 

“Uh,” Kaerys blurted. 

The guard looked up, hooded brown eyes looking more annoyed than suspicious. “Chaincode,” he repeated. 

“Just one second,” Kaerys said with a nervous smile. She closed her eyes and tried to rush through process of blocking out the world. Her heart was racing, and blocking out its rumbling seemed to take forever. She reached out, even as she did so and found the place where her energy mixed with the guards. 

“You don’t need one,” she said softly. 

The energy in her hands seemed to buck against her, resisting the idea. In desperation she shoved more energy into their connection. “You don’t  _ need one _ ,” she growled. 

“I don’t need one,” the guard said in a detached, confused voice. 

“I am free to go,” Kaerys hissed. 

“You are free to go,” the guard repeated. Then he pressed a button and the gate lifted for her. Coming back to the world was disorienting, even more than the first time. The energy she had pushed into the guard had been too much. She staggered, but remained upright through the gate. 

_ You must keep moving, _ Mother said urgently. 

“That was… hard,” Kaerys muttered out loud. 

_ You tried to make up for your sloppy technique with brute strength _ . 

_ Yup _ . 

_ This is the price! _

_ Had to do something, Mother _ , Kaeryes noted. 

_ Just get through this airlock and into the staton. Then get lost in the crowd _ . 

_ Right _ , Kaerys said, steadying herself against a wall. The airlock was a pale gray, though the paint was chipping to reveal corroded metal underneath. A few other entrants to the station gave her side long looks as they passed her. With a sigh she pushed off the wall and followed the stream into the station. 

“Oh wow,” she breathed as she stepped through the gate. 

The salvagers had hollowed out this section of the massive ship almost down to the outer hull. A city of sparkling metal buildings had been built in the huge space left behind. A crowd of all imaginable peoples was winding through the “streets” of the city, trading, drinking, fighting and walking. Oraj’s palace had been huge, but it did not tower like these sparkling minarets. 

“It’s beautiful,” Kaerys said in a reverent tone. 

_ Yes _ , Mother acknowledged. She gave Kaerys another moment to take in the sights, before urging her,  _ but you must hide _ .  _ They will be coming _ . 

The sudden spike of terror that thought brought jarred Kaerys from her awe. She stepped back into the stream of people leading to the big crowds in the city. She let herself get carried in that stream. She had been in it for a while when she realized she had no idea how to get back to the ship. 

_ One crisis at a time _ , Mother offered. 

_ Right _ , Kaerys said. She pushed across the current of people and slipped into a small alley nearby. She carefully walked down it, painfully aware that she was an unarmed woman, alone, in a boofing space station full of criminals and thugs. She got to a turn and found a small alcove out of sight of the main walkways. 

_ Will this work? _ She asked Mother. 

_ Yes. _

_ Okay. _

Kaerys brushed some detritus from the ground with one of her feet then sat down cross-legged in the clear patch, as Mother had told her to do. 

_ This will be much harder _ , Mother cautioned.  _ He is far away and there will be many, many beings around you _ . 

_ Right _ , Kaerys said.  _ But he and I are… connected? _

_ Your energy is entangled with his yes, so the connection will be somewhat different. But you are barely connected, only a few days time and one very emotional experience _ , Mother said.  _ The bond will not be strong _ .  _ You will need to be gentle and patient _ . 

_ We don’t have a ton of time _ , Kaerys reminded her. 

_ You will have wasted your time if your rush _ . 

_ Fine _ , Kaerys breathed. She closed her eyes and blocked out the world again. She took her time, settling into the void. She would be there for a long time. Then she furtively sent her awareness out along the stream of energy leaving her to join the… 

The sea of beings was overwhelming, like a burning wave of stars crashing into her. There were  _ so many people _ . So much energy was blazing out of the city it made her shake. And on that energy came emotions, so many feelings. Anger. Fear. Hope. Lust. Joy. Determination. It was like experiencing each emotion for the first time. Somewhere, back in the world, she felt the dulled sensation of tears burning on her cheeks. She let herself weep, feeling that searing blast of  _ life _ as it came in from every angle. 

But like her eyes adjust to a sudden change in light, this new sense adjusted too. Kaerys felt a pang as she thought she might never experience it like that again. Raw, terrible and beautiful. But Ruyn needed her functioning, not sobbing in awe. She started brushing her awareness along the strands, searching for the strength of a  _ bond _ with someone. 

It took a long time, and stumbling over Grell and Aena before she found Ruyn. He wasn’t terribly far, but it was difficult to follow his energy back to him. She let herself tentatively brush against the emotion flowing there. He was angry, furious really, but it was a mask over pain, exhaustion and fear. She pulled back before the emotion could overwhelm her, but it was a near thing. On impulse, she reached back out and sent a thought crystalized with resolve:  _ we are coming _ . 

As she withdrew back to the world, she kept his location in her mind, some small part of her not fully returning. She could feel the faint thrum of their connection, oriented herself to it, and began walking. 

_ Very good _ , Mother said, and she sounded sincerely impressed. 

_ Thank you, Mother _ , Kaerys replied.  _ I am… sorry… that I was short earlier.  _

_ Respect is earned _ , Mother said.  _ I would be disappointed if you gave me so much before you knew the depth of my wisdom _ . 

Respect was something Kaerys had given precious few people. She had never respected Grauf or the other task masters and managerial servants. She had feared them, but that was different. Respect was saved for the few people she had seen stand up in the face of fear. She had never counted herself among them. 

Her attention returned to her walk, winding through the allies and main streets alike. After a few minutes it brought her to a pile of scrap that had been haphazardly transformed into a sort of compound. A low metal wall surrounded it, with a scaffolding erected as a guard tower. Kaerys hid back around a corner when she saw an Aqualish standing guard at the top. He didn’t look particularly attentive, but Kaerys thought discretion was the best option. 

She was confident Ruyn was there. It looked like the kind of place the Hutts would hide someone. But how could she convince the others?  _ “Hi, yes, I followed my mystic vision and I’m pretty sure he’s in this pile of junk. What? Yes, I have magic powers. Sorry I didn’t mention them.” _

_ Magick _ , Mother corrected with a thought. The difference was subtle.  _ Magic is a fairy tale. Magick, as you have seen, is very real _ . 

_ I’m sorry, Mother _ . 

_ And the answer to your problem is very clear, _ Mother said.

_ It is? _

_ Just tell them you saw him being taken inside here _ . 

_ But I didn’t _ . 

_ They don’t know that _ . 

Kaerys felt uncomfortable. 

_ What if they don’t believe me? _

_ Why wouldn’t they? _

_ They don’t seem to trust me much. _

_ They will be as desperate for a solution as you are. They will at least look into it.  _

Kaerys knew she was right, but still felt uneasy. Lying to her… associates… seemed like a bad habit to get into. But letting a quibble like this keep her from saving Ruyn was worse. She took a deep breath and nodded, then turned to return to the ship. Once she found another alcove, she closed her eyes and searched for the threads that would lead her to the crew. 

She was just getting there when something jarred her back into the world. Before she fully returned, she felt herself slam into the hard metal “ground” of the city. She had landed bonelessly, and her left arm was trapped under her body as she felt a boot press cruelly into her back, pinning her down. 

“Now what do we have here,” growled a deep male voice. Kaerys craned her head around to see a tall human with yellow teeth and an ugly glint to his eye standing over her. He was wearing a dirty flight suit with a number of weapons slung onto it. There was a dour looking Twi’lek and another, taller human with no hair and a manic look to his face. 

“Let me up,” Kaerys said, trying to keep the shake out of her voice. 

“You aren’t really in a place to be giving orders,” the man in the flight suit said. The others chuckled. “What were you doing out here? Meditating?” 

“Why does it matter?” She looked around, but there was no one else in sight in the alley. 

“Making conversation,” the man replied. “Give us your creds.” 

“I don’t have any,” she said after a moment. 

“Oh-ho-ho,” the man said with a laugh. “Me and the boys was kinda hoping you’d say that. Guess you’ll have to pay up some other way.” 

Kaerys’s heart thundered and her limbs felt numb and made of lead. She knew exactly what the man meant. And there was no one who would come to save her. 

_ You must do it yourself _ , Mother said. 

_ How? _ She demanded in a panic. 

_ Just like Dasry. _

Kaerys blinked and thought furiously. The man removed his boot and before she could scramble away, he flipped her over and pinned her down. 

“What do you say?” he asked with a leer. 

Kaerys blocked him out, and the rough touch of his groping hands. She pushed everything down, even the thundering of her heart. Her life depended on it. She felt the sour energy of the man on top of her almost immediately. It felt the way rotten meat smells, and Kaerys fought down the sensation of gagging that threatened to pull her back into the world. 

Instead she took hold of the man’s energy and pushed all of her feelings into him. Her pain, her desperation and most of all her fear. She sent the terror coursing through her veins flying into the man. 

His ear piercing scream shook her back into the world. 

He fell backwards off of her, scrambling away from her. His eyes were wild and he actually vomited in a panic. He didn’t even stop to wipe his mouth before clambering to his feet and running away with an inarticulate scream. 

The other two men looked on in stunned silence. Kaerys did too. She hadn’t expected such a strong and visceral reaction. But hearing his wails drifting back filled her with a grim satisfaction. The other men slowly turned to look at her. 

“What the hell did you do to ‘im?” The Twi’lek demanded. 

“You should go,” Kaerys said, her voice shaky, but a small hard smile on her face. 

The Twi’lek instead drew a blaster. “Nah, you answer my question. What did you do to him?” 

“Last chance,” Kaerys said. This idiot didn’t get it. He didn’t understand how out of his depth he was. 

She reached back out to that other sense, that world of energy. It got easier every time, quicker. She reached out and found the Twi’lek’s energy. A little less sour than the first man, a little hotter with anger. And fear. Kaerys fed that fear, and poured another emotion. Sorry. The pain she felt at losing Dea. The endless suffering of Oraj’s palace. But not over a lifetime of learning. She fed the pain into him whole. 

The Twi’lek let out a choking sob and let the blaster fall from his hand. Then he staggered back to one knee. Kaerys clenched her fists, holding onto his energy even as she spoke. “I told you,” she said in a hard voice that seemed to echo, “to go. I gave you a chance.” 

The Twi’lek just let out another sob, looking down at his hands in misery. 

“Stop,” the other man managed, his eyes wide. 

“Shut up,” Kaerys snapped, “or you’re next.” She could feel the Twi’lek’s own sadness rising up to meet hers. It entwined itself with it inside him, and brought with it regret and guilt. Kaerys gritted her teeth and fed them back into the Twi’lek. 

“You shouldn’t hurt people,” she growled. She looked at the big bald man who took a half step back from her. “THIS is what happens, when you hurt people.” And then she sent her grief over her dead mother rolling into the Twi’lek who stopped sobbing and widened his eyes in panic. He was hyperventillating, Kaerys realized with a start. She started pulling back from him. 

She was too late. 

The Twi’lek surged forward and grabbed his blaster. Kaerys’s eyes went wide and she started raising her hands in a hopeless defensive gesture. The Twi’lek, sobbing again lifted the blaster. And shot himself in the head. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best of intentions can't save Kaerys from the repercussions of her actions. How will she get word of Ruyn's location back to the crew, and how will they react to her escape and return?

Kaerys stared in stunned silence as the lifeless body of the Twi’lek crumpled to the ground. Smoke, carrying the smell of burnt flesh, wafted up from the corpse. Her eyes burned with sudden tears, and her stomach twisted. She was about to throw up when something grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. 

“What did you do to him,” the last of the attackers demanded, his thick fingers squeezing her neck painfully. 

Kaerys grabbed a hold of his hand, trying to pull his fingers away and alleviate the terrible strain on her neck. She kicked him and he growled in fury, squeezing harder. 

“You killed him!” the man roared, eyes wide and furious. 

Then he let out an agonized scream and... disintegrated. 

Kaerys choked on his ashes after she fell to the ground hard. She coughed and then rolled on her side to vomit. 

“What did you do to the Twi’lek,” a cold, hard familiar voice said. Kaerys froze, then turned her head slowly to see Shyn standing, disruptor still drawn, flat eyes on Kaerys. 

“Nothing,” Kaerys said. Her voice was flat. It was too much. She felt like she was leaving her body, like she saw the conversation from outside herself. It was a relief, not the feel the horror and pain and fear that had filled the last few moments. 

“He begged for mercy and killed himself for no reason,” Shyn said, her voice equally emotionless. 

“I don’t know why he did that,” the lie was obvious, but Kaerys didn’t care. 

“Poodoo,” Shyn said with a small smile. 

Kaerys shrugged. “Are you going to kill me?” 

“I’m not sure,” Shyn said. 

“I see,” Kaerys said. 

Shyn closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Kaerys felt something brush against her. Like a stray hair. But she realized it was not brushing against her skin. The feeling yanked her back into her body with a shock. 

“You are tainted,” Shyn pronounced before Kaerys could react to the sensation. 

“Excuse me?” 

Shyn merely showed her teeth in an unpleasant smile. 

“I know where Ruyn is,” Kaerys offered. 

“Oh?” 

“I can show you, though I can’t prove it.” 

“That’s a hard sell,” Shyn said, grim smile still showing. “How would you know?” 

Kaerys licked her lips, then forced an equally unpleasant smile onto her face. “The same way you know I’m tainted.” 

Shyn blinked at that. Which surprised Kaerys almost as much as her words had surprised the other woman. They looked at one another uncertainly. 

“You want to save him,” Kaerys said, slowly standing. 

“Yes.” 

“And you need to… deliver me,” Kaerys said. 

Shyn’s hard little smile returned. “Yes.” 

“So you aren’t going to kill me.” 

“ _ Still  _ undecided,” Shyn said. 

“No,” Kaerys said, surprised at her own certainty. “But you want to make me feel afraid before you admit that. You want to remind me that you can… hurt me. Or kill me.” 

Shyn’s face slide to expressionless and then into a terrifying hard scowl. “Stay out of my head.” 

“I didn’t go in your head,” Kaerys said. “I just know your type. You aren’t the first person I’ve met who got off on scaring people.” 

Shyn didn’t speak, she simply flowed forward, sweeping Kaerys’s legs out from under her and driving her toward the ground with her left hand. The impact with the hard ground drove the air from her lungs. Then her head whiplashed into the ground and bounced and everything became confusion and pain for Kaerys. Slowly the colors swimming in front of her face resolved into the barrel of the disruptor and Shyn’s expressionless face. 

“You don’t know my type,” Shyn said in a very soft voice. “You don’t know anything about me. If you did, you would be a lot more careful with your words and your actions.” 

Kaerys could only groan in response. 

“I know your secret. I know what you are, Sith,” Shyn said in that same soft voice, but she pressed the barrel hard enough against Kaery’s forehead to hurt. “I should hand you over to the Hutts myself. I should kill you now. But I won’t. I’ll sell you to your next owner. Grell may not admit it to himself, but that’s what she’ll be for you. I didn’t care before. Now I’m glad.” 

She pulled the barrel back from Kaery’s forehead and stood up from where she had been squatting over her. “Get up. You’re going to tell the others where you found Ruyn. And we’re going to rescue him.” 

Kaerys sat up slowly, rubbing the back of her head. She felt something warm and wet, where her scalp was split. But it didn’t seem like a big gash. She got to her feet groggily. 

“I was planning to come back,” she said, though her voice was weak. 

“Sure,” Shyn said. She had lowered the disruptor somewhat, but it was still pointed at Kaerys. She looked at the weapon and her stomach fluttered. The fear threatened to turn to anger but she took a deep breath and pushed them both down. She longed for that far away place she had been moments before, but it was never something she could control. She would have to endure, as she always had. 

_ Not forever _ , Mother whispered. 

*******

Kaerys was greeted by looks that ran the gamut from suspicious to concerned when they got back to the ship. She could feel the emotions behind the expressions too, brushing against her new senses. Before she had tried so hard to open them up, but now it was hard to look past them. The uncertainty, anger and fear coming from the others just fed the emotions in her and she gritted her teeth to maintain control. 

“Why did you leave?” Aena asked, standing as Kaerys entered. 

“Aena,” Grell growled. The Devaronian woman scowled at the captain but stayed quiet and sat back down. 

“I found her in an alley,” Shyn said. “She was being attacked by some gangers. They roughed her up pretty good.”

“What happened to them?” Grell asked. 

“We don’t need to worry about them,” Shyn said coolly. Aena swallowed. 

“Are you okay,” Grell asked her, his tone neutral. 

Kaerys scanned everyone’s eyes before looking down and saying “I’m fine.” 

“Good,” Grell said without emotion. “Shyn, take her to her room and lock the door. We’ll deal with this after we get Ruyn back.” 

“Actually,” Shyn said, “the girl can help us with that.” 

“We clearly can’t trust her enough to bring her to even a fake exchange,” Grell snapped. 

“I agree,” Shyn said. “But we won’t have to. She found him.” 

“You found Ruyn?” Dasry asked in a startled voice. 

Kaerys looked at Shyn and then to the others, nodding. 

“Where?” Grell asked. 

“He’s in a sort of… compound, at the edge of the city,” she said. 

“Opposite side, towards Bay 202,” Shyn added. 

“You can’t be any more specific than that?” Grell growled, his eyebrow cocked skeptically. 

“Sir I can barely read Basic,” Kaerys said. “And I’ve never been here before.” 

Grell grunted. “But you can remember your way?” 

Kaerys licked her lips. “Yes.” 

“ _ How  _ did you find him?” Aena asked. 

“I… don’t know how to explain it,” Kaerys said. 

“How do you know she’s telling the truth?” Dasry demanded of Shyn. 

“She is,” Shyn said. “Besides we don’t have any other leads, do we?” 

“No offense, Shyn,” Dasry said. “But her word and your assurances aren’t exactly filling me with confidence.” 

“For all we know, Kaerys was planning on coming back,” Aena said, standing up. 

“Enough!” Grell hadn’t raised his voice much, but it was deep and resonated through the room. 

Embree broke in with his croaks and clicks. Emeight waited patiently then turned to the others. “The Creator says he trusts our guest. He thinks we should believe her.” 

“Really?” Dasry asked, turning to Embree. 

The Genosian nodded his head once, which made his rather pronounced jowls jiggle. 

“I don’t trust her,” Grell said, looking at Kaerys. He was angry, but Kaerys also felt the hurt and shame radiating off of him. Then he turned to Shyn. “But I do trust Shyn. Kaerys can you draw us a map of the compound?” 

“I only saw it from the outside, but it wasn’t very big,” she said. 

“That will have to do,” he replied. He pulled a data pad from his pocket and handed it to her. 

“Um,” she said, blushing. 

“Oh father’s horns, she’s never even used a data pad,” Aena said, exasperated. She stepped over to Kaerys and took the data pad, navigating a few screens before bringing up what looked like a blank one. “Just draw the shapes with your finger,” she said. She gave Kaerys’s hand a little squeeze as she handed the data pad back. The gesture of kindness added “guilt” to the sea of emotions threatening to overtake Kaerys. But she nodded her thanks, and began to sketch out a rough map of the compound. The others crowded around to look. 

“How much space is there between those walls and the rest of the city,” Grell asked when she finished. 

“Maybe the length of the ship,” Kaerys estimated. 

“How many guards,” Dasry asked. 

“I only saw one, in a tower,” Kaerys answered. 

“There will definitely be more inside,” Shyn said dryly. 

“Not too many,” Grell noted. “There isn’t room.” 

“Why do they have him holed up in such a small space,” Dasry asked, looking up at Grell. 

“Gavor doesn’t want to draw trouble to his main hideout,” Grell said with a shrug. “It probably wouldn’t be a major issue for him, given his benefactors, but he’s more than a century old. Everyone likes risk less as they age.” 

Embree chirruped and held up a holopuck. It projected up an image of the station made of amber light. He said something and the image zoomed into a hazier view of the space the city was in. He looked at Kaerys and said something else. 

“The Creator wants to know where in here the compound is,” Emeight asked. 

Embree nodded then pointed a finger at a glowing spot closest to her. 

“That’s where we are now,” Emeight said. 

“Oh, um,” Kaerys craned her neck looking around, then she pointed at a spot on the far wall of the ship. Embree narrowed his eyes and looked in near it. Then he started speaking in his croaking, buzzing language. 

“The Creator says his hive used to build these ships back during the Clone Wars,” Emeight said, a note of surprise in his buzzing droid voice. “I didn’t know that.” 

Embree scowled and growled something at the robot that made its bird-like head jerk away. Dasry stifled a laugh.

“Yes well, the Creator says there will be a number of hallways that come together behind the back wall of the compound, deeper inside the ship,” Emeight said, evidently chastised. “They could be a way for us to get in, or a way for the Hutt’s men to reinforce.” 

Grell rubbed his hand over his chin. “We’ll need to factor that in then.” He turned to Shyn. “What do you think?” 

Shyn looked at the holo projection and the map on the datapad. “I think we can’t go at this one way. Or even two ways.” Grell grunted and nodded for her to continue. “I think you and Dasry go at it head on. Embree and Emeight cover the back corridor. Aena stays here with the ship. Kaerys and I will go in and actually get Ruyn.” 

Everyone started speaking at once in protest, except for Kaerys and Grell, who looked at Shyn with narrowed eyes. After the chaos had gone on for a few moments he growled “enough” again. Then he spoke to Shyn, “Why would we bring her?” 

“To keep her honest,” Shyn said flatly. “If she’s leading us into a trap, she’ll be well within shooting range. And I don’t trust her not to try to escape again while we’re all out there.” 

“First of all, I’m not staying with the ship,” Aena said, scowling. “And second of all, I can handle her.” 

“The murder beast couldn’t handle her but you can?” Shyn asked, gesturing at Dasry without looking at her. The Lasat bared her teeth at Shyn in a silent growl. 

“Shyn,” Grell said sharply, his tone full of reproof. 

“Sorry, Dasry,” Shyn said, though her heart clearly wasn’t in it. “But if you couldn’t keep the girl under wraps, Aena wouldn’t stand a chance.” 

“I just had to pee,” Dasry muttered. 

“And you’d do better?” Aena demanded. 

“I brought her back, didn’t I?” 

“Aena you’re a lights-out pilot,” Grell said. “You should be with the ship, get it ready for us. We may need to leave in a hurry.” 

“That’s a load of goff tripe,” Aena said with disgust. 

“It’s the truth, and it’s what is going to happen, so stop complaining about it,” Grell said, his voice frank. 

“Fights are chaotic,” Dasry said, nodding her head at Kaerys. “How do we make sure she doesn’t get away in the chaos?”

“Embree,” Grell said. “We still have those old bounty fobs from that job on Mon Cala, right?” 

The Geonosian nodded. 

“Hook them up with her chaincode,” Grell said, turning his eyes to Kaerys. “That’ll be plenty of tracking for the station.” 

Embree croaked his assent and scuttled over to one of the vents in the room, crawling through without further comment. 

“So we’re going with Shyn’s plan?” Aena asked, looking displeased but resigned. 

“Yes,” Grell said. “Anybody have a problem with that?” 

“No,” Dasry said, but she stood straighter, and Kaerys realized the Lasat towered over everyone else. Dasry actually had to bend her neck to keep from hitting her head on the ceiling. “But while I mean no disrespect to you Captain, or your number two,” Dasry said, cracking the knuckles of one enormous hand with the fingers of another. “If Shyn ever talks about me like I’m an animal again, I’m going to rip her arms off and beat her to death with them.” There was a low and foreboding sense of malice in Dasry’s voice, and the scarcely contained rage boiling out of her made Kaerys’s heart race. 

“Dasry,” Grell started in a disapproving tone. 

“I’m not done,” the Lasat growled. Then she turned her yellow eyes on Kaerys. “And you. I thought you were my friend. If you betray us,” Dasry growled, leaning towards Kaerys. “I’ll bite off your pretty face and then give you back to the Hutts. We’ll see how they treat you when they can’t whore you out anymore.” Then the big Lasat turned and lumbered back to the cargo area. “I’m going to get ready,” she spat over her shoulder. 

Aena looked shocked. Grell looked troubled. Shyn was as expressionless as ever. Kaerys felt… nothing. 

“We should all get ready,” Shyn said after a moment. “We need to save Ruyn.” 


End file.
